Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

Ludwig Wittgenstein Philosopher

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United Kingdom
  • Born: Apr 26, 1889
  • Died: Apr 29, 1951

Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 - 1947, Wittgenstein taught at the University of Cambridge. During his lifetime he published just one slim book, the 75-page Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, one article, one book review and a children's dictionary. His voluminous manuscripts were edited and published posthumously. Philosophical Investigations appeared as a book in 1953 and by the end of the century it was considered an important modern classic. Philosopher Bertrand Russell described Wittgenstein as "the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived; passionate, profound, intense, and dominating".

Born in Vienna into one of Europe's richest families, he inherited a large fortune from his father in 1913. He gave some considerable sums to poor artists. In a period of severe personal depression after the first World War, he then gave away his entire fortune to his brothers and sisters. Three of his brothers committed suicide, with Wittgenstein contemplating it too.

Knowledge is in the end based on acknowledgement. knowledge

The human body is the best picture of the human soul. best & fitness

The logic of the world is prior to all truth and falsehood. truth

A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes. work

I sit astride life like a bad rider on a horse. I only owe it to the horse's good nature that I am not thrown off at this very moment. nature

Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination. imagination

Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language. intelligence

Man has to awaken to wonder - and so perhaps do peoples. Science is a way of sending him to sleep again. science

When one is frightened of the truth then it is never the whole truth that one has an inkling of. truth