Wittgenstein’s Machist Sources

Abstract

Most readers find Wittgenstein and his writings very enigmatic. He is brief, takes much for granted, and it is normally difficult to relate his ideas to anything familiar.’ Indeed, his first book, which is often simply called the Tractatus is so abbreviated as to become an almost inexhaustible source of diverse interpretation. Indeed, anyone who is bold enough to allege that he “knows” what Wittgenstein means has almost surely jumped to conclusions on insufficient evidence or is presuming a lot. His posthumously published Philosophical Investigations ² may seem to represent an improvement in that at least several parts of it seem virtually comprehensible, but even here there are heated debates about individual passages. One of the many reasons why readers often feel so frustrated is Ludwig Wittgenstein’s comparative lack of references to thinkers with whom he agreed or opposed.³ Names can be vital signposts to help us see the points he wanted to make, or even the problems he wanted to solve, but they are generally absent.