Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

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One of the greatest philosophical works of all time, in a new translation for the twenty-first century

A Penguin Classic

Widely regarded as one of the most influential philosophical works of the twentieth century, Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is a succinct yet wide-ranging exploration of language and logic, science and mysticism, which has inspired generations of thinkers, artists and poets. In a series of short, bold statements, Wittgenstein seeks to define the limits of language, its relation to logic, its power and its inherent failings. Originally published in the early 1920s, it is the only book-length work the renowned philosopher published in his lifetime. In this thrilling new translation, Alexander Booth displays an extraordinary sensitivity to the subtle influence on Wittgenstein’s gem-like prose–at once specialist and, often, remarkably plain-spoken–considering his background in mechanical engineering, while highlighting the underlying poetry of this seminal text.Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was born in Vienna in 1889 to a wealthy industrialist family and pursued an education in mechanical engineering before going on to study, and later to teach at the University of Cambridge, where he lived until his death in 1951. He is regarded by many as the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century, and his two major works, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921) and Philosophical Investigations (published posthumously in 1953), are two of the most influential works within the history of the analytic tradition. Jan Zwicky (Introducer) is a Canadian philosopher, poet, and musician. Her poetry collections include Songs for Relinquishing the Earth, The Long Walk, and Wittgenstein Elegies. Her philosophical works include Lyric Philosophy, Wisdom & Metaphor, and The Experience of Meaning. Alexander Booth (Translator) is a poet and literary translator living in Berlin. He received a PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant for his translations of the German poet Lutz Seiler in 2016. His work has been published in several international journals.GB

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