!!!Wittgenstein, Ludwig

b. Vienna, April 26, 1889, 
d. Cambridge (United Kingdom), April 29, 1951, philosopher. Son of 
Karl  Wittgenstein, brother of Paul  Wittgenstein. Came from a family 
of rich entrepreneurs; studied engineering at Berlin University from 
1906; research student at Manchester University from 1908, at 
Cambridge University from 1911 (where he made friends with B. Russell, 
J. M. Keynes and G. E. Moore); served as a volunteer in 
World War I from 1914-1918. An outstanding musician as well as 
philosopher. Used the fortune he had inherited for social aims (for 
example, supported G.  Trakl), also respected lowly occupations and 
worked as a primary school teacher in Lower Austria from 1920-1926. 
Together with the architect P. Engelmann he designed a house for his 
sister Margarethe W. Stonborough (Wittgenstein House, today's Cultural 
Institute of Bulgaria) in the 3rd district of Vienna from 1926-1928, 
which constitutes a splendid example of early modern architecture in 
Vienna. His philosophies influenced the  Vienna Circle, Neo-Positivism 
and the development of mathematical logic. In his early years W. tried 
to prove the existence of the irrational (in his "Tractatus 
logico-philosophicus", written in 1918, published in 1921); with his 
well-known statement "Wovon man nicht reden kann, darueber muss man 
schweigen" ("We have to be silent about what we cannot talk about") he 
expressed his belief that no reasonable observations can be made about 
metaphysical matters. Later he turned to the usage and existing forms 
of language in his work "Philosophical Investigations" 
("Philosophische Untersuchungen") (1930-1949), in which he tried to 
explain the workings of language as a game (thereby taking into 
consideration the activities with which language is interwoven). 
Professor at Cambridge University (United Kingdom) from 1939-1947. His 
language philosophy was particularly propagated in Anglo-American 
countries and greatly influenced modern Austrian literature. (I.  
Bachmann,  Wiener Gruppe). - A Ludwig Wittgenstein Prize has been 
awarded by the Austrian Ministry of Science or Ministry of Education 
in 1996 for outstanding research in any academic discipline. The prize 
comprises ATS 10-20 million to be spent on research over a 
period of 5 years.

!Works
Woerterbuch fuer Volksschulen, 1926; Some Remarks on Logical 
Form, 1929. - Editions: Schriften, 2 vols., 1960/65; 
Werksausgabe, 8 vols., 1991-1993; W. Braun (ed.), Geheime 
Tagebuecher 1914-1916, %%sup 3/%1992; Wr. Ausgabe, ed. by M. Nedo, 
8 vols. (including introduction, concordance and register), 
1993-1998.

!Literature
M. Nedo, M. Ranchetti (eds.), L. W., 1983; R. Haller 
(ed.), W., eine Neubewertung, 3 vols., 1990; R. Monk, Das 
Handwerk eines Genies, %%sup 2/%1992; W. Vossenkuhl, L. W., 
1995; K. Wuchterl and A. Huebner, L. W. mit 
Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten, %%sup 12/%2001; NOeB.



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