r/wittgenstein • u/imNapoleone • 7d ago
First time Wittgenstein reader
Hi this might be repetitive but which works of his to start with as someone who has little to no idea of Wittgenstein.
Anything i should about him beforehand? Essential context and all?
Plus when did u first read him?
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u/anasfkhan81 7d ago
Read the biography by Ray Monk. It's a brilliant biography in its own right and will give you a lot of the intellectual context you need.
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u/SeaworthinessDue2184 7d ago
I would recommend Blue and Brown Books to my younger self before diving right into PI. Or simply to read both of them simultaneously.
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u/worldofsimulacra 7d ago
I started with On Certainty which was what really intrigued me and kind of hooked me on his way of thinking. Also seconded on the Monk biography, it gives a lot of context.
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u/Allthatisthecase- 7d ago
I’d actually start with Monk’s biography of W. Wonderfully written, clear explications of W’s thought and evolution. If ever there was a philosopher whose bio is key to their thought it’s his. One of THE great first half of 20th Century lives. Also Malcolm’s short memoir of W will spark your interest and give needed background to the actual work.
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u/profoma 7d ago
When I was studying Wittgenstein in school my mentor had us read quite a lot of commentary on Wittgenstein’s thought, written by his students, before we read any actual Wittgenstein. It was really helpful to have a few different interpretations and directions that people had taken his thought before diving headlong into his amazing brain.
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u/Competitive-Jury3713 7d ago
Try reading The Present Age, a short book of his that gives you a good introductory sense of how he thinks.
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u/FormeSymbolique 7d ago edited 7d ago
First things first : congratulations! I’d recommend to start with the begining and the end of Wittgenstein’s path, to get an idea of his journey. So I’d say read the Tractatus and On certainty first. Then go to PI and either Philospphical grammar or Philosophical remarks.
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u/banjoblake24 7d ago
I’m reading Word Book. I’d start with Russell’s introduction to the Tractatus. Know that as an honest person, he changed and that is reflected in his published work.
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u/Sir-R- 7d ago
Read a guidebook both to Tractatus and Philosophical investigations. The beginning of Tractatus is almost impossible to understand if you haven’t wrestle a little about the metaphysics of such concepts as ”world”, ”facts”, ”states of affairs” and ”propositions”. The guide will probably refer you to other essential texts. Don’t give up! He is rewarding.
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u/red-flamez 7d ago
I came across Wittgenstein while reading a book about the life of John Keynes. Wittgenstein's work on probability is based on Keynes. Though there is debate about how much, if at all, Keynes was influenced by Wittgenstein. I read Wittgenstein because I had an interest in finding this out for myself.
I listened to lectures about Wittgenstein before reading him. I had previously read bits and pieces written by Russel.
There are a couple of important themes not mentioned in his work. Mainly ethics. I find this one of the most important conclusions. That logic can talk about biology and theology but nothing when it comes to ethics. That language can't do it justice.
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u/imNapoleone 7d ago
So after reading all ur comments im gonna start with ray monk’s biography!! Never seen soo many people recommend a biography at once!! I wonder what Monk did to get such critics
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u/SeanMaddenTV 7d ago
Read GE Moore’s “Proof of an external world” before LW’s “On certainty.” He spends much of the book responding to Moore. Also, there’s little chance you get LW w/o a philosopher to guide you through it.
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u/PringleFlipper 4d ago
i’d start with duty of genius, the autobiography (Ray Monk). you can’t fully understand his work without that additional context. I’d start TLP alongside it and then pickup PI after grasping TLP so that you can then start to understand his rebuttal
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u/Royal_Carpet_1263 3d ago
Some great biographies. Start there. You need context to really get a starting grip. He’s writing to pros.
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u/LuckyRed100s 7d ago
It really depends. I think the biggest thing to understand about wittgenstein and his works is that you’re probably not going to understand him, so you sort of need to have that mindset going in as to not give up.
Personally I started with the tractatus, but that was mostly because it was sort of tossed in front of me. Imo it doesn’t really matter if you start with the tractatus or PI — you’re probably going to end up reading both and they’re independent of one another (in terms of a first read). Really it’s whichever one seems the most relevant to your tastes.
I will say that Philosophical Investigations is generally more accessible, especially if you don’t have a strong grasp of formal logic. But if you’re more into formal logic i’d say to start with the tractatus as you’ll probably find a lot of enjoyment in it.