''Culture and Value'' is a selection from the personal notes of

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

made by Georg Henrik von Wright. It was first published in German as ''Vermischte Bemerkungen'' in 1977 with the text being emended in following editions. Wright's second (1978) expanded edition was translated by Peter Winch and published in 1980 (and reprinted in 1984) as ''Culture and Value''. Alois Pichler revised the work (producing a new German edition in 1994) and this was published with a new translation by Peter Winch in 1998. The remarks are arranged in chronological order with an indication of their year of origin. Nearly half of them stem from the period after the completion (in 1945) of Part One of

Philosophical Investigations ''Philosophical Investigations'' () is a work by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, published posthumously in 1953. ''Philosophical Investigations'' is divided into two parts, consisting of what Wittgenstein calls, in the preface, ''Bemer ...

. At the end of the book appears a poem that was offered by Wittgenstein to the Hofrat Ludwig Hänsel, and it is assumed that he was its author. Among the published notes particular attention has been bestowed on a passage where Wittgenstein enumerated people who, in his judgement, had influenced him: Boltzmann,

Hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...

, Schopenhauer, Frege, Russell, Kraus, Loos, Weininger,

Spengler Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (29 May 1880 – 8 May 1936) was a German polymath whose areas of interest included history, philosophy, mathematics, science, and art, as well as their relation to his organic theory of history. He is best kno ...

and Sraffa. Of note to literary scholars, the book also contains some of Wittgenstein's thoughts on

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, negatively comparing his depictions of character to those of Tolstoy. Contained within the book are Wittgenstein's remarks on religion. Wittgenstein stated that "Christianity is not based on historical truth; rather, it offers us a historical narrative and says: now believe! But not, believe this narrative with the belief appropriate to a historical narrative, rather: believe, through thick and thin". For Wittgenstein you should "not take the same attitude to it as you take to other historical narratives...there is nothing paradoxical about that!" and that "The historical accounts in the Gospel, might historically speaking, be demonstrably false yet belief would lose nothing by this". Wittgenstein observed a therapeutic impact of religion writing that "the Christian religion is only for the man who needs infinite help, solely, that is, for the man who experiences infinite torment" and is "a man's refuge in this ultimate torment". Religion is "the calm bottom of the sea at its deepest point, which remains calm however high the waves on the surface may be". A further note dating from the same year (1931) witnesses the first occurrence of the term '

family resemblance Family resemblance () is a philosophical idea made popular by Ludwig Wittgenstein, with the best known exposition given in his posthumously published book '' Philosophical Investigations'' (1953). It argues that things which could be thought to b ...

' in a discussion of Spengler's work. The musician

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...

, has a piece entitled ''

Proverbs A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial ...

'', which is set to a quote from the book: "How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life!".

References

External links

Books by Ludwig Wittgenstein Philosophy of religion literature {{Reli-philo-book-stub

See also

References

External links