Re: What do I have to know about Wittgenstein?

E. R. Olovetto — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:40:36 GMT

You really need this book to make proper sense of the Tractatus. Even then, you are reading a book that Wittgenstein claimed was itself nonsense. This website lays out the book in the way it is intended to be read (1.121 refers to 1.12 refers to 1.1). I also have several PDFs of works related to Wittgenstein that you might not be able to find online if anyone wants them.

Roderick Long has this piece that relates his philosophy to Austrian economics. I've also incorporated ideas from Long's essay on rule-following to general libertarian ethics and children's rights.

Wittgenstein later rejected what is called the "picture theory of meaning". The rest of the Tractatus is still useful and can be separated from the picture theory. The picture theory was an adaptation of Heinrich Hertz' Principles of Mechanics and I consider these ideas extremely important when used in another context.

The main jargon-free thing you can know is that Wittgenstein viewed philosophy as "therapeutic". Constantly questioning, "WTF does that really mean?", is a good habit in my opinion, and that is all philosophy really is to Wittgenstein.

Re: What do I have to know about Wittgenstein?

Sieben — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:41:27 GMT

Philosophical jargon?!?!?! Maybe the early Wittgenstein. He wrote a bunch of logic-y stuff that he later rejected. The late wittgenstein is a lot more profound. You can read the summary of stuff in his last book on wikipedia. It is quite accessible.

What do I have to know about Wittgenstein?

Kenneth — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 10:51:10 GMT

I don't want to go through all that philosophical jargon so I'd appreciate some help.

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Re: What do I have to know about Wittgenstein?

Re: What do I have to know about Wittgenstein?

What do I have to know about Wittgenstein?