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![]() | Philosophical Investigations: The German Text, with a Revised English Translation 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition by Ludwig Wittgenstein, G. E. M. Anscombe, Elizabeth Anscombe ISBN-10: 9780631231271 ISBN-10: 0-631-23127-7 ISBN-13: 9780631231271 ISBN-13: 978-0-631-23127-1 Hardcover 1991-01-15 Wiley-Blackwell Find Lowest Price | |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations presents his own distillation of two decades of intense work on the philosophies of mind, language and meaning. When first published in 1953, it immediately entered the centre of philosophical debate, and achieved a classic status it has retained ever since. This revised German–English edition is published on the fiftieth anniversary of Wittgenstein's death. It incorporates final revisions by G. E. M. Anscombe (1919–2001) to her original English translation. . | ||
Reviews | ||
A sea change in philosophy Wittgenstein's importance to philosophy has, paradoxically, been overstated and understated at the same time. It is overstated when individuals attach themselves to particular arguments and use them to justify dubious claims - and, I might add, this is what happens more often than not. Half understood, some of these arguments seem to carry a weight that they do not have, and muddy things up more than they help. But understood in its entirety, W.'s philosophy is the most powerful and innovative (and I would say, correct) philosophy in recent times. | ||
The key text. Thisd just is the key text of 20th century philosophy. Written in aphoristic style and heavily reactive to the conversation between Frege Russell and the early Wittgenstein that gave birth to contemporary analytic philosophy it is a must read (in company with some of the texts from those three authors). Nobody should remain unchanged in their thinking by reading and striving to understand this work. | ||
3 stars only for 50th Anniversary edition Just a few comments on this 50th anniversary--supposedly FINAL--edition of the translation: 1) After 50 years Anscombe STILL did not fix the snafu in section 412 where she forgot to translate a parenthetical. She was informed of this in the 1950's! 2) To change the translation of "Lebensform" from "form of life" to "life-form" after all these years is unnecessary and stupid. It rings too much of biology and Star Trek. 3) To change the pagination, by which all references to Part II and inserts to Part I have been made for 50 years, is an unnecessary bother. 4) The translation has NEWLY-INTRODUCED typos in sections 38, 41, 47, and then I stopped counting. How is this an improvement? Please bring the older editions back in print! | ||
Nice Version of a Contemporary Classic Originally published in 1953 the `Philosophical Investigations' was the latter of Wittgenstein's two influential philosophical texts (the Tractatus being the offer). This Fiftieth Anniversary edition provides the original German text and Anscombe's English translation on opposing pages. The Investigations is widely considered to be one of the most influential philosophical texts of the last century. Although it touches on a range of issues including logic and philosophy of the mind it is largely focused on issues pertaining to the philosophy of language. That said, I share the view that Wittgenstein is difficult to categorize - in many ways he stands outside the mainstream of philosophy. I have occasionally heard it said that Wittgenstein is appealing and accessible to non-philosophers. Undoubtedly this will vary from reader to reader, however, I think a good understanding of the philosophical questions of the time is essential to getting the most out of Wittgenstein - he spends little time framing the issues under discussion and without this background many of his musings may seem meaningless. From a historic perspective this is one of the most important works in twentieth century philosophy, on a more basic level it is a choppy and poorly constructed work. I struggle with Wittgenstein, sometimes viewing him as trivial other times as profound. Clearly, many great thinkers are in the latter camp, as are ironically many neophytes who want to appear as if they understand Wittgenstein. Overall, this is an excellent edition of a modern day classic - an essential addition to any serous student's library. I would not, however, recommend this as an entry point to the world of philosophy. | ||
A fine book This is one of the greatest books I have ever read--and I've read quite a few books. | ||