Letters to Russell, Keynes, and Moore [Hardcover]

Ludwig Wittgenstein (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Hardcover: 190 pages
• Publisher: Cornell University Press; First Edition edition (1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801408229
• ISBN-13: 978-0801408229
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,501,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Take glimpse at Wittgenstein's thought before Tractatus, December 28, 2004

By 

Sei Kameoka (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Letters to Russell, Keynes, and Moore (Hardcover)

This book contains 57 letters from Wittgenstein to Russell, 57 letters to G.E. Moore, 31 letters to Keynes. With the exception of four, all come from the period 1912-1921, i.e., pre-Tractatus era when Wittgenstein still had a friendship with Russell. A few pages contain a photograph of his handwritten letter and some drawing of map. Of interest are the letters from Russell of course. Reader can take glimpse at the development of Wittgenstein's thought. For example, a letter of November 1913: "Dear Russell, (1) your question was-I think-due to the misprint (polarity instead of bipolarity). What I mean to say is that we only then understand a proposition if we know both what would be the case if it was false and what if it was true...(3)whether ab-functions and your truth-functions are the same cannot yet be decided"

It also contains a famous letter which broke friendship between G.E. Moore. A letter of May 1914: "Dear Moore: If I'm not worth your making an exception for me EVEN IN SOME STUPID DETAILS then I may as well go to HELL directly; and if I am worth it and you don't do it then - by God - YOU might go there." Almost all letters to Keynes were rather formal and tedious (No mention about Apostle).

What also surprised me was that his indifference to socio-political affairs. This era was the most socially/politically dynamic period that had WWI, Russian Revolution and collapse of Austria Hungaria Empire. His brothers committed suicide, one brother lost his arm, his family lost fortunes, but almost none of his opinion towards these events was found in his letter.