In this episode James Klagge discusses the life and times of Ludwig Wittgenstein with David Edmonds. This is part of our mini series on the biographies of philosophers, Bio Bites.
This is philosophy bites with me, David.
Edmonds, and me, Nigel Warburton.
If you enjoy philosophy bytes, please support us.
We're unfunded and all donations will be gratefully received.
For more details, go to www.philosophybytes.com.
Ludwig Wittgenstein is a philosopher whose ideas and way of expressing them are genuinely illuminated by a fuller understanding of his life and the historical context in which he was writing.
James Klarger has devoted many years to explaining the relationship between Wittgenstein, the man, his times and his philosophy.
This episode is part of our mini series, Biobytes, which focuses on the lives of philosophers.
Jim Clarger, welcome to philosophy bites.
Thank you.
I'm always happy to have a chance to talk about Wittgenstein.
We're talking today about, as you say, Wittgenstein and the only book, I should say the only philosophy book that he published in his lifetime, which is the tractatus logico philosophicus.
But perhaps you can begin by telling us a little bit about Wittgenstein's background.
Well, he grew up in one of the richest families in Vienna.
His father was a manufacturing businessman, comparable to the Krupps in Germany or the Carnegies in the United States.
Although on the other hand, the family was very cultural.
They knew Brahms, Mahler, Klimt painted a wedding portrait for one of Ludwig's sisters.
So they're a funny combination of things.
He went on to study engineering and then aeronautical engineering, where he patented a kind of propeller.
His interest in engineering and then math led him to an interest in logic, and that's sort of what brought him into philosophy.