Wittgenstein's Tractatus: An Introduction

by Alfred Nordmann

• ISBN13: 9780521616386
• ISBN10: 0521616387
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-19
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Ludwig Wittgenstein's 'Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus' is one of the most important books of the twentieth century. It influenced philosophers and artists alike and it continues to fascinate readers today. It offers rigorous arguments but clothes them in enigmatic pronouncements. Wittgenstein himself said that his book is 'strictly philosophical and simultaneously literary, and yet there is no blathering in it'. This introduction considers both the philosophical and the literary aspects of the 'Tractatus' and shows how they are related. It also shows how the work fits into Wittgenstein's philosophical development and the tradition of analytic philosophy, arguing strongly for the vigour and significance of that tradition.

Table of Contents

Preface	viii
List of abbreviations of works by Wittgenstein	x
Introduction: Wittgenstein's provocation	1	(13)
Critical philosophy	14	(33)
The argument	47	(45)
Thought experiments	92	(34)
Tense and mood	126	(33)
The senses of sense	159	(44)
Conclusion: a sense of familiarity	203	(15)
References	218	(10)
Index of names and subjects	228	(5)
Index of passages	233