Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein
- Born:
- April 26, 1889, Vienna, Austria-Hungary
- Died:
- April 29, 1951, Cambridge, England
- Nationality:
- Austrian (later British)
- Profession(s):
- Philosopher, Logician, Mathematician, Architect, Schoolteacher
Early Life and Education
- Born into a wealthy and influential Austrian family.
- Initially educated at home.
- Studied engineering at the Technische Hochschule in Berlin and later at the University of Manchester.
- Developed an interest in the foundations of mathematics, leading him to study logic with Bertrand Russell at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Career and Major Achievements
- Served in the Austrian army during World War I.
- Worked as a schoolteacher in rural Austria after the war.
- Returned to Cambridge in 1929 and resumed his philosophical work.
- Became a professor of philosophy at Cambridge in 1939.
- Resigned his professorship in 1947 to focus on writing.
Notable Works
- Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921): A highly influential work in early analytic philosophy, focusing on the relationship between language, thought, and the world.
- Philosophical Investigations (published posthumously, 1953): A radical departure from his earlier work, emphasizing the importance of language use in social contexts and the concept of "language games."
- On Certainty (published posthumously, 1969): Explores the nature of knowledge and certainty.
Legacy and Impact
Ludwig Wittgenstein is considered one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century. His work profoundly influenced the development of analytic philosophy, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. The complexities of how to discuss the intersection of things like 'ludwig wittgenstein biography philosophy makeup', are better illustrated by the limitations of language he identified.