Wittgenstein's Return to Cambridge: A Philosophical Journey
In January 1929, Ludwig Wittgenstein returned to Cambridge, where he had first arrived in 1911 as a 22-year-old engineer attracted by Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead's project of a logical foundation for mathematics in Principia Mathematica. His intensity of thought, influenced by Viennese experiments in new languages across sciences and arts, had the fortune of ignoring much of the history of philosophy. In 1931, in a list of authors who inspired him, the only philosopher cited was Schopenhauer, alongside Boltzmann, Hertz, Kraus, Loos, Weininger, and Spengler.
Key facts
- Wittgenstein returned to Cambridge in January 1929.
- He first came to Cambridge in 1911 as a 22-year-old engineer.
- He was attracted by Russell and Whitehead's Principia Mathematica.
- His thought was influenced by Viennese experiments in new languages.
- In 1931, he listed Schopenhauer as the only philosopher among his inspirations.
- Other inspirations included Boltzmann, Hertz, Kraus, Loos, Weininger, and Spengler.
Entities
Artists
- Ludwig Wittgenstein
- Bertrand Russell
- Alfred North Whitehead
- Arthur Schopenhauer
- Ludwig Boltzmann
- Heinrich Hertz
- Karl Kraus
- Adolf Loos
- Otto Weininger
- Oswald Spengler
Institutions
- University of Cambridge
Locations
- Cambridge
- United Kingdom