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Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus 471st ed. Edition

4.5 out of 5 stars 396

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"Philosophy is not a theory," asserted Austro-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951), "but an activity." In this 1921 opus, his only philosophical work published during his lifetime, Wittgenstein defined the object of philosophy as the logical clarification of thoughts and proposed the solution to most philosophic problems by means of a critical method of linguistic analysis. In proclaiming philosophy as a matter of logic rather than of metaphysics, Wittgenstein created a sensation among intellectual circles that influenced the development of logical positivism and changed the direction of 20th-century thought.
Beginning with the principles of symbolism and the necessary relations between words and objects, the author applies his theories to various branches of traditional philosophy, illustrating how mistakes arise from inappropriate use of symbolism and misuses of language. After examining the logical structure of propositions and the nature of logical inference, he discusses the theory of knowledge as well as principles of physics and ethics and aspects of the mystical.
Supervised by the author himself, this translation from the German by C. K. Ogden is regarded as the definitive text. A magisterial introduction by the distinguished philosopher Bertrand Russell hails Wittgenstein's achievement as extraordinarily important, "one which no serious philosopher can afford to neglect." Introduction by Bertrand Russell.


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  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dover Publications; 471st ed. edition (January 12, 1998)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0486404455
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0486404455
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 0.4 x 8.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 396

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Ludwig Wittgenstein
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4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
396 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2015
In Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Wittgenstein “deals with the problems of philosophy and shows … that the method of formulating these problems rests on the misunderstanding of the logic of our language.”

Hence, the author demonstrates that the solution to most philosophic problems becomes a critical method of linguistic analysis.

Tractatus begins with ontology and the state of affairs of the world is described. From there the book deals largely with the question of how language works and how it can describe the world accurately. Many forms of language (e.g. names and propositions) reflect different objective parts of reality (e.g. objects and facts). Logic is then discussed as it pertains to tautologies, contradictions and propositions. From this claim stems the conclusion that that the laws of science are not logical “laws,” but a means that we use to express reality—hence, science does not in fact explain our world but merely describes it.

Although the author embraces logic, he ironically ventures into the mystical on many occasions. Some of such highlights of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus include the proposal that most philosophical propositions are senseless (4.003), the relativity of “free” will and the lack of inner necessity of causality (5.1362), and the inability to recognize either the truth or falsehood from non-logical propositions. Wittgenstein brilliantly elaborates on widely accepted, yet wholly non-certain, everyday happenings (6.363II to 6.372) and clarifies that all ethics is transcendental (6.42I). In effect, the author posits that morality is in fact objective because subjective morality stems from happenstance, and is therefore meaningless.

All potential readers should be acutely aware that this book is a very, very tough read. You may find yourself taking several minutes to read through one short page and then several hours to digest what it is you in fact just read. Either way, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is a terse, powerful, enigmatic and notable in its ability to whisk the dormant imagination into shape. The intellectual ramifications of being able to fully grasp and comprehend the material are limitless.
45 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2021
Imagine being in your twenties and believing that you’ve solved all the problems of philosophy. You would have to have a lot of hubris, genius or both.

Ludwig Wittgenstein was, whatever his psychological makeup, precisely such a man. Born to an incredibly wealthy family, he renounced his inheritance and devoted himself to the life of the mind. Much of his first masterpiece was written while a gardener at a monastery. He loved the peace and solitude enough that he asked if he could become a monk despite being an atheist.

His solution to the most profound questions of man caused a revolution in academic philosophy that reverberates to this day. Essentially, he held that the human mind can only make pictures of reality through the modicum of words. Language then refers to materiality or is meaningless. Questions like, “Is the true necessarily beautiful?” were solved not by saying that they were a mystery but that they betrayed a flaw in reckoning the power of the mind which reveals itself in nonsensical language.

It is only the physical sciences that can reach the truth and so the task of philosophy was simply to render science service to make certain that its hypotheses and theories were correctly articulated.

While Wittgenstein himself came to see the Tractatus as gravely mistaken, its genius was recognized by Bertrand Russell and he was granted a seat at Cambridge to continue his philosophical investigations.

Because of its relative simplicity it is an ideal text to introduce collegians to analytic philosophy. Like many other classics, the Tractatus’s flaws do not relegate it to oblivion. Its influence on modern thought cannot be exaggerated. Highly recommended to those interested in the Western philosophic tradition.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2016
Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is a fine example of “ordinary language” philosophy and, as such, its goal—similar to that of logical positivism—is to help us think and express ourselves more clearly. The “language of everyday life” (3.323) is partly, when not completely, to blame for our "confusions" (3.324) because “very often” words have different meanings in different contexts and, even in any one context, “very often” words have different meanings for different people (3.323). Wittgenstein encourages us to logically clarify our thoughts; to elucidate; to “make clear and delimit sharply the thoughts which [“very often”] are, as it were, opaque and blurred” (4.112). Be logical! Clarify! Elucidate!

There is much to be gained from this book, even if the sections in which he uses symbolic logic and truth tables are skimmed or skipped.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2016
I am giving the book five stars, but Amazon get no star at all !!!! It is amazing and unbelievable ! When decided to buy the book I specifically searched for the Pears and McGuinness translation. I looked at all the available versions here and looked inside every book to make sure that I am not making a mistake. I landed on this version, looked closely inside the book and saw the name "Pears and McGuinness" as the translators and even read the entire vignette at the end of the book to read about their praiseworthy work ! To my surprise and dismay, when the book arrived, in good condition and prompt though, they had sent me the Ogden version !!!!!! .....What the hell Amazon ?! Either update the sample or sent the right order ! .........Really really disappointed. I might as well go and buy something which I don not need at eBay to simply make your rival a little richer and conversely you a little bit poorer ! or less rich !
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2023
this guy is wacky fr lol but he makes some great points about language and such
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Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2023
Must read for logicians

Top reviews from other countries

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David
5.0 out of 5 stars Buen libro
Reviewed in Mexico on December 6, 2022
Buen titulo
Zeeshan Hanif
5.0 out of 5 stars Never Judge A Book By Its Cover
Reviewed in Canada on May 12, 2018
Every page will enlighten you more and more. It teaches you not only 'What To Think', but more importantly 'How To Think'!
Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars INOVADOR
Reviewed in Brazil on February 25, 2018
O filósofo austríaco, LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN, preocupou-se com a linguagem e centralizou os seus estudos na comunicação realizada entre os seres humanos. Afinal, o que discrimina o ser humano de um computador, de um carro ou de um animal irracional? É a comunicação.
Constitui até hoje uma obra que se destaca no universo filósofico.
sujith
5.0 out of 5 stars A timeless philosophy classic. But, don't buy this ...
Reviewed in India on June 28, 2017
A timeless philosophy classic. But, don't buy this book if you are not a philosophy geek. You will not probably get past the fourth sentence of this book, unless your abstract thinking, existential intelligence and logical skills are above the 99.9999th percentile.
Please read extensively on logical positivism before you touch this book.
7 people found this helpful
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Jeff Head
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2016
Fascinating but very challenging.
One person found this helpful
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