Perhaps the most important work of philosophy written in the twentieth century, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus was the only philosophical work that Ludwig Wittgenstein published during his lifetime. Written in short, carefully numbered paragraphs of extreme brilliance, it captured the imagination of a generation of philosophers. For Wittgenstein, logic was something we use to conquer a reality which is in itself both elusive and unobtainable. He famously summarized the book in the following words: 'What can be said at all can be said clearly; and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence.' David Pears and Brian McGuinness received the highest praise for their meticulous translation. The work is prefaced by Bertrand Russell's original introduction to the first English edition.
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.40
Trade in Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (Routledge Classics) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.40, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Special Offer until June 30, 2013: Receive an additional £5 promotional Gift Card, when you trade-in at least £10 worth of books. Learn more
|
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Review
'Among the productions of the twentieth century the Tractatus continues to stand out for its beauty and its power.' - A.J. Ayer; 'Mr Pears and Mr McGuinness have not only achieved a clear and natural English but have been meticulous in their care for accuracy.' - The Times Literary Supplement; 'Pears and McGuinness can claim our gratitude not for doing merely this (a better translation) but for doing it with such a near approach to perfection.'- Mind
From the Back Cover
'Among the productions of the twentieth century the Tractatus continues to stand out for its beauty and its power.' - A.J. Ayer
Perhaps the most important work of philosophy written in the twentieth century, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus was the only philosophical work that Ludwig Wittgenstein published during his lifetime. Written in short, carefully numbered paragraphs of extreme brilliance, it captured the imagination of a generation of philosophers. For Wittgenstein, logic was something we use to conquer a reality which is in itself both elusive and unobtainable. He famously summarized the book in the following words: 'What can be said at all can be said clearly; and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence.' David Pears and Brian McGuinness received the highest praise for their meticulous translation. The work is prefaced by Bertrand Russell's original introduction to the first English edition.
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889 - 1951). Regarded by many as the most outstanding philosopher of the twentieth century. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Perhaps this book will be understood only by someone who has himself already had the thoughts that are expressed in it -or at least similar thoughts. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Perhaps this book will be understood only by someone who has himself already had the thoughts that are expressed in it -or at least similar thoughts. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 49 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus was meant to put an end to philosophy. As it turned out, it didn't, because he continued to write later on in life, although after reading it, most of his contemporaries had to keep silent for a bit. It undermines much thought of the early 20th Century. It's a hard one to read. You need to go over these short aphoristic mind explosions slowly. So it's a good thing that the whole text only amounts to about 70 pages. If you do get to the end, though, you can not read philosophy in the same way again. It is worth it for the final lines. The Tractatus is something you grow into. You love it or you hate it. If you get it, you can't ignore it. If you don't, you probably will.
20 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By J. Forster
Format:Paperback
Before outlining the philosophical project of the Tractatus a cursory note about the style and structure of the text should be made. It consists of short supposedly self-evident aphorisms in the form 7 general statements as well as many supplementary sentences that explain or reveal the deeper meaning of the more general statement above, e.g. 7.1 is taken to be an explanatory proposition of 7, 7.1.1 supplements 7.1, and so on. There are no arguments per se in the text. This does not mean that the propositions are unreasoned, but the responsibility lies with the student in teasing the arguments out of Wittgenstein's subtle pointers. It is of necessity to point out that the Tractatus is not a work accessible to laymen or beginners: one does need some understanding of contemporary formal logic as well as the logical atomism of Russell and to a lesser extent the philosophy of Immanuel Kant.
Wittgenstein's aim with the Tractatus was to demystify philosophy through the conceptual clarification. Wittgenstein did not believe philosophical problems existed in the traditional sense, but resulted from confusions caused by a fundamental misuse and misunderstanding about the form and meaning of language. In this sense, the Tractatus, according to Wittgenstein, was to put an end to philosophizing in the ordinary sense and instead see philosophy as a process of clarification of fundamental concepts that would aid those subjects that seek genuine answers in terms of facts, e.g. the sciences.
Central to this new definition of philosophy is the picture theory, for which the Tractatus is most famed. In the preface Wittgenstein alludes to the Kantian principle that the limits of language (thought) are the limits of the world.... Read more ›
Wittgenstein's aim with the Tractatus was to demystify philosophy through the conceptual clarification. Wittgenstein did not believe philosophical problems existed in the traditional sense, but resulted from confusions caused by a fundamental misuse and misunderstanding about the form and meaning of language. In this sense, the Tractatus, according to Wittgenstein, was to put an end to philosophizing in the ordinary sense and instead see philosophy as a process of clarification of fundamental concepts that would aid those subjects that seek genuine answers in terms of facts, e.g. the sciences.
Central to this new definition of philosophy is the picture theory, for which the Tractatus is most famed. In the preface Wittgenstein alludes to the Kantian principle that the limits of language (thought) are the limits of the world.... Read more ›
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Anyone who really wants to understand the Western tradition of philosophy, including where it goes wrong, should get to know the Tractatus, and this translation is by far my favourite.
It may take a little while to become familiar enough with Wittgenstein and his way of going about philosophy to appreciate the Tractatus for what it really is, but when you do you realise that it is a great book. Flawed, but great. In fact, Wittgenstein spent over twenty years working toward a book which would overcome the Tractatus's flaws while showing that the overall intelligence within the Tractatus was valid and important. This second book was published shortly after his death as Philosophical Investigations, and only by understanding the two books together can you, philosophically, begin to "see the world aright" [Tractatus, 6.54].
It may take a little while to become familiar enough with Wittgenstein and his way of going about philosophy to appreciate the Tractatus for what it really is, but when you do you realise that it is a great book. Flawed, but great. In fact, Wittgenstein spent over twenty years working toward a book which would overcome the Tractatus's flaws while showing that the overall intelligence within the Tractatus was valid and important. This second book was published shortly after his death as Philosophical Investigations, and only by understanding the two books together can you, philosophically, begin to "see the world aright" [Tractatus, 6.54].
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This edition of the Tractatus presents Ogden's translation alongside Wittgenstein's original German. If you can read German, this IMO is the edition to get. Wittgenstein is notoriously difficult to translate (some maintain that he is untranslatable) and despite the excellence of Ogdens rendition, there are places in which the original German has, at least to my reading, connotations that the English does not.
As the closing sentence says, "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent" - which is as good an excuse as any for my saying no more ;-)
As the closing sentence says, "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent" - which is as good an excuse as any for my saying no more ;-)
15 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this so my bookshelf would look better to guests - it is currently full of werewolf porn and Chuck Palahniuk novels. It did not disappoint in that respect, especially as the title is in some kind of Foreign. As for the contents, I've not got that far yet.
5.0 out of 5 stars
philosophically interesting, but extremely difficult with no guidence
30 April 2011
By RW
Format:Paperback
The Tractatus, for me, has been very enjoyable to study and many of the concepts, such as 'the limits of language' and 'nonsense', are riveting once they are understood. But that is the problem; to gain anything from the Tractatus it needs to be understood and this is difficult. Famously, Wittgenstein handed the transcript of the Tractatus to Bertrand Russell and claimed that Russell would never understand. Wittgenstein turned out to be correct. He was appalled by the misunderstanding in Russell's introduction for the book, particularly with the claim that he was 'stating the conditions for 'an ideal language'. Wittgenstein attempted to have the book republished without Russell's appraisal. So, if Russell cannot understand the Tractatus it would seem unconquerable for someone with a passing, or even deep, interest in philosophy. Or rather, it is unconquerable without guidance.
My recommendation is that if you want to enjoy the book for the fascinating content it has to offer, buy a study guide (or take one out from the library). When I first bought the Tractatus for my undergraduate course it seemed unapproachable, but after going through the guides I became engrossed in the many, varied and contradictory insights it presented. The guides I have read are the Nordman, White and Morris and I found that White was good for a step by step approach with the outlines of the modern interpretation, Nordman represented those modern interpretations in a interesting and accessible way, and Morris was a nice middle ground, although sometimes a little drawn-out. Although I haven't read it I hear good things about the Mounce guide also.... Read more ›
My recommendation is that if you want to enjoy the book for the fascinating content it has to offer, buy a study guide (or take one out from the library). When I first bought the Tractatus for my undergraduate course it seemed unapproachable, but after going through the guides I became engrossed in the many, varied and contradictory insights it presented. The guides I have read are the Nordman, White and Morris and I found that White was good for a step by step approach with the outlines of the modern interpretation, Nordman represented those modern interpretations in a interesting and accessible way, and Morris was a nice middle ground, although sometimes a little drawn-out. Although I haven't read it I hear good things about the Mounce guide also.... Read more ›
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 37 reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Foundation Stone of Mechanistic Reductionism by our Greatest...
" But I did not get my picture of the world by satisfying myself of its correctness: nor do I have it because I am satisfied of its correctness. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Featherless Biped
3.0 out of 5 stars
What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence
This knotty and cryptic work was very difficult for me to comprehend at first and, as I have only a superficial knowledge of philosophy, I still find it somewhat bewildering. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Paul D
4.0 out of 5 stars
old thinkers
a waste of time if you haven't read simple philosophy...Wittgenstein should always start with 'can we know the truth? Read more
Published on 16 May 2011 by paraclete
2.0 out of 5 stars
Student notes
Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is hailed as one of the most important philosophical works of the 20th century, but it appears more to be the student's scribbled... Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2010 by Erik Norgaard
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nuff said
This book should have ended philosophy. Wittgenstein's use of Mathematics ensured that his personal prejudices (which we all have) would not interfere with his conclusions. Read more
Published on 24 Jun 2007 by Michael Badu
5.0 out of 5 stars
did he mean anything at all?
"This book will perhaps only be understood by those who have themselves already thought the thoughts which are expressed in it -- or similar thoughts", so begins Wittgenstein at... Read more
Published on 3 April 2007 by graham_525
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
