Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) was an influential Austrian philosopher, considered one of the most prominent figures in twentieth-century thought. He was born in Vienna into a wealthy and intellectual family. He studied engineering in Berlin and then at the University of Cambridge, where he met philosopher Bertrand Russell, who introduced him to the world of logical philosophy.
His first major work, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921), seeks to establish the limits of language and thought, proposing that what cannot be clearly stated should be silenced. This work made him a prominent figure in the Vienna Circle and analytic philosophy. After its publication, he temporarily retired from philosophy to work as a rural teacher and gardener.
Years later, he resumed his philosophical activity with a radically different approach, which was reflected in his posthumous work Philosophical Investigations. There, he criticizes his earlier ideas and proposes that the meaning of language arises from its use in social contexts, a theory that deeply influenced linguistics, psychology, and the social sciences.
Wittgenstein lived austerely and dedicated almost exclusively to philosophy. He died in 1951 in Cambridge, leaving a lasting and debated legacy. Would you like a timeline with his main works?
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