Ludwig Wittgenstein
contemporaryAnalytic Philosophy1889 – 1951
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century. His early work, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, advanced a picture theory of language and meaning, while his later Philosophical Investigations fundamentally revised that view through the concepts of language games and family resemblance. His two distinct philosophical periods each generated major research programs in analytic philosophy.
Notable Achievements
1
Developed the picture theory of meaning in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
2
Introduced the concept of language games to explain meaning as use
3
Formulated the private language argument against the possibility of a purely private ostensive definition
4
Pioneered the method of dissolving philosophical problems by examining ordinary language
5
Influenced the development of both logical positivism and ordinary language philosophy