[C] [Wittrs] interesting book
- From: J DeMouy <jpdemouy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: wittrsamr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2009 10:56:27 -0800 (PST)
I don't know if anyone here would be interested in this but I came across a
book which interested me as a student of Wittgenstein's thought whose
complete text is available online.
_Austrian_Philosophy:_The_Legacy_of_Fran_ Brentano_ by Barry Smith
http://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith/book/austrian_philosophy/ ;
It is reviewed or summarized at several sites online, from various
perspectives:
http://www.jstor.org/pss/2953761 ;
http://sammelpunkt.philo.at:8080/1737/ ;
http://mises.org/misesreview_detail.aspx?control=59 ;
http://www.asiaing.com/austrian-philosophy-the-legacy-of-franz-brentano.html ;
http://www.friesian.com/austrian.htm ;
Why is it relevant? Apart from the obvious point, viz. Wittgenstein
was Austrian, the book documents the milieu (or one of the milieus) in
which Wittgenstein's thought developed.
The influence of Russell and Frege, of the Vienna Circle, of Schopenhauer, and
of Tolstoy are more or less well understood but most of us, but it is sometimes
neglected that Wittgenstein, even while teaching at Cambridge, still
spent much of his life in Austria.
And he was acquainted with much of the discussion taking place there -
and not just the Circle. His writings shortly after his return to
philosophy, such as _Philosophical_Remarks_, are filled with references
to "Phenomenology",
but there are references again in late works like _Remarks_on_Colour_.
I would suggest that much of the Philosophical Psychology of the
post-Investigations work is more strongly influenced by confrontation
with the ideas of many of the figures discussed in this book
- figures whose ideas trace back to Brentano, such as the
Phenomenologists and Gestalt psychologists - than by the "usual
suspects" (Russell, Frege, Plato, Augustine, Descartes).
This book is not about Wittgenstein, though he gets a few mentions, but
it may help those of us who find ourselves asking, "To whom is this
addressed?" or "Why is he making this point?"
For those who've read _Wittgenstein's_Poker_, this elaborates on some of the
shared background of Wittgenstein and Popper.
Finally, for those interested in the history of Analytic Philosophy
or in the divide between Analytic and "Continental" philosophy, this
book makes in the compelling case for very distinct philosophical
traditions in Austria (including the territory once covered by the
greater Austro-Hungarian Empire) and Germany.
I would add: rather than a divide between Anglophone and Continental
philosophy, it is more helpful to think in terms of a divide between
Austrian/English and German/French philosophy.
J. DeMouy
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