Ray monk on wittgensteins mysticism in the tractatus audio. Wittgensteins idea here seems to be that without there existing a class of simple objects, it would be impossible to picture the world that is, to represent it. Ludwig wittgenstein possessed one of the most acute philosophical minds of the twentieth century. He is also the author of robert oppenheimer and a twovolume biography of bertrand russell. Malcolm comes round to the point in his final chapter, four analogies. Monks energetic enterprise is remarkable for the interleaving of the philosophical and the emotional aspects of wittgensteins life sunday times ray monks reconnection of wittgensteins philosophy with his life triumphantly carries out the wittgensteinian task of changing the aspect of wittgensteins work, getting us to see it in a new way sunday telegraph this biography transforms. Ludwig wittgenstein, by ray monk commentary magazine. Penguin 1990 abstract this article has no associated abstract. He studied wittgenstein at oxford university, and has also written an. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. From language games to mysticism allan watts and wittgensteins tractatus posted on december 14, 2012 by fallenangel this article explores wittgensteins tractatus as a mystical, metaphysical insight in the light of eastern philosophy, catholic mysticism and c. By deftly juxtaposing anecdotal details with clear, nontechnical analyses of. A rehash of a personal comment i made another place in the thread ive worked with wittgenstein a few years back applying it to my communication studies, just to clarify that i dont have a strong foundation in neither logic or philosophy. His biography of robert oppenheimer was published in 2012.
On wittgensteins claim that ethical value judgments are. Ray monk took up his position in southampton in 1992. Wittgenstein seriously contemplates becoming a monk. Eighteenth bws lecture professor ray monk turing and. Wittgenstein had a long list of friendsbecomefrienemies. Monk has a great way of simplifying wittgensteins thought. This is ray monks biography of ludwig wittgenstein, one of the most famous philosophers of the 20th century. How to read wittgenstein by ray monk, paperback barnes. Perhaps the best place to begin trying to understand wittgensteins character, the british philosopher colin mcginn once remarked, is with the photographs that exist of his face. It all started from william jamess varieties of religious experience, and grew not unnaturally during the winter he spent alone in. Monk s energetic enterprise is remarkable for the interweaving of the philosophical and the emotional aspects of wittgenstein s life sunday times ray monk s reconnection of wittgenstein s philosophy with his life triumphantly carries out the wittgensteinian task of changing the aspect of wittgenstein s work, getting us to see it in a new way sunday telegraph this. Monk is the first biographer to quote extensively from. Ray monk has written an excellent book about wittgenstein. The duty of genius 1990, by ray monk, is a superb biography that illuminates both the life and the work of a modern genius.
A critic writing for the christian science monitor states. Pdf on jan 1, 2000, alice crary and others published the new wittgenstein find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Read ludwig wittgenstein pdf the duty of genius by ray monk penguin books great philosophical biographies can be counted on one hand. Wiki for collaborative studies of arts, media and humanities. Ill give it an attempt to summarise his main point in tractatus though to the best of my abilities. His interests lie in the philosophy of mathematics, the history of analytic philosophy, and philosophical aspects of biographical writing. Different, though related, versions of the view were developed by bertrand russell and ludwig wittgenstein. He is a professor of philosophy at the university of southampton. Here is the first fullscale onevolume life of the centurys most influential and intriguing philosopher.
Wittgenstein was a tortured man who fought his calling in philosophy and never fully came to terms with his gifts. Wittgenstein was born in 1889 to one of the wealthiest families in vienna, austria, but from an early age felt drawn into pondering philosophical questions like, for instance, why should one tell the truth if its to ones advantage to tell a lie. Portrait of the thinker as a man if you want to understand ludwig wittgenstein, the thinker and the man, turn to the very last page of tractatus logicophilosophicus, the only philosophical work published in his lifetime. These were the last words of perhaps the greatest, certainly one of the most influential, philosophers of our century. In this incisive portrait, ray monk offers a unique insight into the life and work of a modern genius. The duty of genius, for which he was awarded the john llewellyn rhys prize and the duff cooper prize. Eighteenth bws lecture professor ray monk turing and wittgenstein on logic and mathematics. Exemplifying the need to consider biographies of philosophers on a casebycase basis, a reading of ray monks biography of wittgenstein in light of these coordinates reveals a resemblance between wittgensteins later thought and monks biographical methodology. How to read wittgenstein ray monk the philosophical.
Professor ray monk philosophy university of southampton. Among the topics of comparison are the role of intuition in mathematics, rule following, choice sequences, the law of excluded middle, and the. They are imploring eyes yet with an intense rage flaring just. There you will find in all of its gnomic beauty one of the best remembered and most quoted propositions of all. Ray monk, the author of magisterial biographies of wittgenstein and russell, along with numerous other writings, has produced a slim and compact volume that manages to make the content of the early work intelligible, shows the philosophical import of the later work, and, most importantly, conveys a good sense of the spirit of wittgensteins. Wittgensteins logical atomism is related to his logical constructivism, according to which every proposition is the result of successive applications of one logical operation the socalled noperator to a base of elementary. From bbc radio 4 podcast in our time hosted by melvyn bragg. Wittgenstein free download as powerpoint presentation.
Ludwig wittgenstein ray monk pdf the duty of genius by. Simon critchley is a bestselling author and the hans jonas professor at the new school for social research. Ray monk is professor of philosophy at the university of southampton in england. I thus show that wittgensteins position, in thetractactus, was already quite close to brouwers and that the points of divergence are the basis to wittgensteins later criticisms of intuitionism. Monks energetic enterprise is remarkable for the interweaving of the philosophical and the emotional aspects of wittgensteins life sunday times ray monks reconnection of wittgensteins philosophy with his life triumphantly carries out the wittgensteinian task of changing the aspect of wittgensteins work, getting us to see it in a new way sunday telegraph this biography transforms. Wittgensteins logical atomism stanford encyclopedia of. His interests lie in the philosophy of mathematics, the history of analytic philosophy, and philosophical aspects. Public talk at the loos house in vienna on 22 may 20 series dem ton ein wort. Monks energetic enterprise is remarkable for the interweaving of the philosophical and the emotional aspects of wittgensteins life sunday timesray monks reconnection of wittgensteins philosophy with his life triumphantly carries out the wittgensteinian task of changing the aspect of wittgensteins work, getting us to see it in a new way sunday telegraphthis biography transforms. Alan turing 19121954 1934 undergraduate student of mathematics at cambridge 1935 aged just 22, made a fellow of kings college, cambridge.
Great philosophical biographies can be counted on one hand. This is 18th bws lecture ray monk turing and wittgenstein on logic and mathematics by british wittgenstein society on vimeo, the home for high quality. Ray monk university of southampton how can i be a logician before im a human being. This will be the extend of my summary of wittgensteins thought to be honest, this was the most arduous task of monks book, personally speaking, not because monk was unclear but the concepts were quite difficult to grasp. On wittgensteins claim that ethical value judgments are nonsense arto tukiainen abstract wittgenstein thought that ethical value judgments are absolute in the sense that their correctness if they could be said to be correct does not depend at all on how things are in the world. Russells logical atomism is set forth chiefly in his 1918 work the philosophy of logical atomism russell 1956, wittgensteins in his tractatus logicophilosophicus of. A reluctant cambridge don, he was uncomfortable in the university setting and. Monks energetic enterprise is remarkable for the interweaving of the philosophical and the emotional aspects of wittgensteins life sunday times ray monks reconnection of wittgensteins philosophy with his life triumphantly carries out the wittgensteinian task of changing the aspect of wittgensteins work, getting us to see it in a new.
Monk won the john llewellyn rhys prize and the 1991 duff cooper prize for his biography of ludwig wittgenstein, ludwig wittgenstein. Ray monk is a professor of philosophy at the university of southampton, where he has taught since 1992. He won the mail on sundayjohn llewellyn rhys prize and the 1991 duff cooper prize for ludwig wittgenstein. The role of biography in the understanding of intellectuals. I can say without doubt that this is one of the best books i have ever read.
Monks biography of wittgenstein was subtitled the duty of genius that description describes, perhaps, what oppenheimer thought he was fulfilling on the. Professor ray monk is a professor emeritus of philosophy at the university of southampton. I was advised to read up on ludwig wittgenstein as described by ray monk as an assignment after reading this article, i still do not have a grasp on what wittgenstein was proving so far, what i am able to impart from ray monks article is that ludwig wittgenstein was a person that was at odds with science and 20 th century scientism. Ray monk, ludwig wittgenstein the duty of genius philpapers. The duty of genius and of a twovolume biography of bertrand russell. Looking into wittgensteins eyes, mcginn went on, it is hard to meet his gaze for very long.