Wittgenstein’s Tractatus: History and Interpretation

This volume of newly written chapters on the history and interpretation of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus represents a significant step beyond the polemical debate between broad interpretive approaches that has recently characterized the field. It makes a strong case that close investigation, both biographical and textual, into the composition of the Tractatus, and into the various influences on it, still has much to yield in revealing the complexity and fertility of Wittgenstein’s early thought. The themes explored range across the breadth of Wittgenstein’s book, and include his accounts of ethics and aesthetics, as well as issues in metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, and aspects of the logical framework of his account of representation. By approaching Wittgenstein’s thought through the various first-level issues that give rise to it, rather than from entrenched schematic positions, the contributors demonstrate the possibility of a more inclusive, constructive and fruitful mode of engagement with Wittgenstein’s text and with each other.