The Wittgenstein Reader (Blackwell Readers) [Paperback]

Sir Anthony Kenny (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0631193626 | ISBN-13: 978-0631193623 | Edition: 1

This volume is the first selection of the essential writings of Wittgenstein -- arguably the emblematic philosopher of the twentieth-century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This excellent selection of key passages from the voluminous writings of Wittgenstein for the first time allows him to be read systematically and continuously. I am sure it will be invaluable in the classroom and give much pleasure and enlightenment to the general reader." Rom Harre, University of Oxford and Georgetown University

From the Back Cover

From the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus to the later work on ethics and religion, this volume is the only selection of the key works of Wittgenstein – arguably the emblematic philosopher of the twentieth century.

Thematically and chronologically arranged, The Wittgenstein Reader represents the breadth, complexity, and evolution of his thought, from logical atomism to the later work on ethics, life and faith. Taken together, the selections are designed to add up to an overview of Wittgenstein’s philosophical position, and are ideal as a single text for course use.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (October 28, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631193626
• ISBN-13: 978-0631193623
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,293,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great text for doing philosophy in class, May 19, 2005

By 

W. Jamison "William S. Jamison" (Eagle River, Ak United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wittgenstein Reader (Blackwell Readers) (Paperback)

For those that wish to use Wittgenstein to engage students with philosophy this book is a great way to do that without having to purchase several more expensive books. This selection of the key writings presents the evolution of Wittgenstein from the Tractatus to his later works. It enables students to experience doing philosophy and moving from one stage to another and another in a practical way. It corresponds well to reflective thinking stages and helps demonstrate the philosophical succession that leads to our contemporary position on truth, beauty and goodness. I agree that "Taken together, the selections are designed to add up to an overview of Wittgenstein's philosophical position, making The Wittgenstein Reader an ideal single text for course use."

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent compilation by an excellent author, April 17, 2000

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me (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wittgenstein Reader (Blackwell Readers) (Paperback)

I myself am not a die-hard fan of epistemology. In fact, the only works dedicated to that topic which I can stand for long are written by Anthony Kenny. He does wonders with Wittegnstein. His commentary and selections truly make the philosophy come to life. Even if you aren't particularly fond of the material, it still proves to be a highly valuable and highly readable work.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hubris, May 1, 2011

By 

JAY (SHERMAN OAKS, US, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Wittgenstein Reader (Blackwell Readers) (Paperback)

The Wittgenstein Reader is successful in what it has accomplished. It gives the academic student definitions, almost points them out, so when asked a question in an exam, the student can write down the appropriate definition, even though the student and the teacher do not have the slightest notion of what that definition explores. Mr. Anthony Kenny's abridgment also categorically states that he, Mr. Anthony Kenny, has no idea of the territory into which he has attempted to tread. He is like a junkman stumbling about in the Metropolitan Museum in search of something familiar. I have nothing against Mr. Kenny. I am only writing this review in defense of the deceased who obviously cannot defend himself. A well-known author once said on the subject of abridgement: quote: "If someone would ever attempt to abridge F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, that someone would be taking a masterpiece and turning it into a book."

Not all, but the vast majority (maybe more) of contemporary students and instructors aspire to interpret the Tractatus by delving into their own reactive mind, their own thought process, for explanations: therefore, the Tractatus has become the byproduct of their own thinking as it did with David Pears and Bertrand Russell. Such academic scoundrels were unable to get out of themselves. The syndrome of self-absorption and hubris caused them to get lost within those murky waters of their own Freudian Ids.

As with Zen, the student must be principally riveted to the now, to the present, to the moment, not to past assumptions, opinions that reside in their own personalized consciousness. Wittgenstein's tools are the aphorism, because it encapsulates great amounts of information in a very small unit, and his personal orientation with the puzzle. (The intent of a puzzle is to cause a person to think.) Wittgenstein incorporated these two and created a tool that both forces the student to effort and, at the same instant, coerces the student to listen, because what all of this is about is what Ludwig Wittgenstein thinks and how he applies that thinking.

What we memorize, makes us knowledgeable, although, at the same time, substitutes the thinking of someone else for our own thinking. Like a barrel of wine---yes, the barrel holds the wine but the barrel ain't the wine.

If we travel with Ludwig Wittgenstein we must make the effort to listen, to hear, to learn how to sing his song.

The Tractatus begins with 1* and travels to 2.012. (No abridgement so far.) But starting with 2.0121 to 2.0124---the entire section, nearly a page, has been ripped out. A non-fiction rape. It is self-evident that Mr. Kenny believes that the said section is not necessary. That 2.012 and 2.013 alone are sufficient. Alas, a pimp thinks he is a person of importance, but if he lowers his trousers, no one notices, except, of course, the pimp.

Below Mr. Kenny's marriage of the two sections is consummated:

2.012

IN LOGIC NOTHING IS ACCIDENTAL: IF A THING CAN OCCUR IN AN ATOMIC FACT THE POSSIBILITY OF THAT ATOMIC FACT MUST ALREADY BE PREJUDGED IN THE THING.

2.013

EVERYTHING IS, AS IT WERE, IN A SPACE OF POSSIBLE ATOMIC FACTS. I CAN THINK OF THIS SPACE AS EMPTY, BUT NOT OF THE THING WITHOUT THE SPACE.

The deleted section had the sole purpose of teaching us (according to Ludwig Wittgenstein) how to understand the above definitions. The purpose of the deleted section (just as a puzzle does) was to force us to think, but not to think in the ordinary fashion (reactive mind), but to think as Wittgenstein thought, in the moment, to trudge alongside him.

The deletions enacted by Mr. Anthony Kenny go on throughout the book, whittling the Tractatus down to a meager 29 pages from 75 page book.

There is nothing worse

Than if something sacred

Has been desecrated.

Actually,

There is something worse---

If nobody notices

That it has been desecrated.