This dissertation endeavours to clarify the intellectual accomplishment of Ludwig Wittgenstein by demonstrating the inextricable link between his philosophy and his ethical motivation, and by suggesting the implications of this link. In defense of my position I assert several theses. I extend Wittgenstein's own conviction that his Tractatus had ethical intent by showing how this is true of his entire corpus. I use this argument to oppose the standard description of him as logician or philosopher…
Read moreThis dissertation endeavours to clarify the intellectual accomplishment of Ludwig Wittgenstein by demonstrating the inextricable link between his philosophy and his ethical motivation, and by suggesting the implications of this link. In defense of my position I assert several theses. I extend Wittgenstein's own conviction that his Tractatus had ethical intent by showing how this is true of his entire corpus. I use this argument to oppose the standard description of him as logician or philosopher of language; I emphasize instead his incessant attempts to recover a sense of wonder, an activity which gives him the appearance of a mystic rather than that of a logician or grammarian. My reconsideration of Wittgenstein's life and work is intended for those who seek an alternative historical perspective from which to view a most important intellectual and cultural achievement.
