Ludwig Wittgenstein

Offers new insights into how Ludwig Wittgenstein understood matters concerning the meaning of life.

Widely considered one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century, Ludwig Wittgenstein was deeply interested in the significance of religion and ethics. Although he did not systematically examine religion and the meaning of life in his major published works, Wittgenstein professed that he would at times explore fundamental issues from a religious perspective.

Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Meaning of Life is the first compilation of private letters, remarks, and notes regarding Wittgenstein's thoughts and attitudes on ethics, religion, goodness, value, and moral action. With an academic approach, author Joaquín Jareño Alarcón reveals the significance of religion and ethics in Wittgenstein’s personal experience, corroborates the permanent tension between Wittgenstein and religion, highlights Wittgenstein’s preoccupation with the basic questions addressed by religious discourse, and more. Chronologically organized texts are accompanied by detailed commentary to illustrate how Wittgenstein’s interests in religion and ethics were reflected throughout his personal and intellectual evolution.

• Articulates Wittgenstein’s ethical point of view on religion
• Features a wide range of primary sources, such as personal commentaries, annotations, lecture notes, and diary entries
• Includes testimony of friends, students, and others with close ties to Wittgenstein
• Presents a balanced view of what Wittgenstein wrote and the recollections of others in his circle
• Discusses how the principal intention of Tractatus is to demonstrate the relevance of matters concerning religion and the meaning of life

Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Meaning of Life is essential reading for postgraduate and senior researchers, as well as advanced philosophy students and non-specialists interested in Wittgenstein’s more humanistic writings and his engagement with religion and ethics.

Introductory Note ix

Acknowledgements xviii

List of Sources xix

Abbreviations xxiv

1 1910–1920 1

2 1921–1930 43

3 1931–1940 79

4 1941–1951 153

Other Sources 199

Index 227

JOAQUÍN JAREÑO-ALARCÓN is a former Associate Professor of Philosophy of Culture and Philosophical Anthropology at the University of Murcia, Spain, and Assistant Professor of Ethics at the Catholic University of San Antonio, also in Spain. He served as an Academic Visitor at Oxford University and as a Visiting Scholar at Cambridge University. His books include Secular Portraits: David Hume and John Stuart Mill on the Meaning of Religion (Spanish Edition) and A Brief History of Modern Philosophy.

“To have brought all these remarks together in one volume is remarkable, for it is only here that one can see what terrible struggles Wittgenstein went through. It is a really valuable collection of remarks and an autobiography of a tormented soul.”
—P. M. S. Hacker, University of Oxford

Ludwig Wittgenstein was deeply interested in the significance of religion and ethics, yet he did not systematically examine religion and the meaning of life in his major published works. Although he never committed to a formal religion, Wittgenstein stated that he would at times explore fundamental issues from a religious perspective, engaging with issues concerning goodness, value, moral action, and other questions addressed by religious discourse.

In Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Meaning of Life, Joaquín Jareño-Alarcón offers new insights into how one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century understood matters concerning religion and ethics. Presenting a wide range of primary and secondary sources, this unique volume is the first compilation of its kind to explore Wittgenstein’s thoughts and attitudes on the significance of religion and ethics in his personal experience.

Each chronologically organized text is accompanied by detailed commentary, illustrating how Wittgenstein’s interests in religion and ethics were reflected throughout his personal and intellectual evolution. Throughout the book, personal commentaries, annotations, lecture notes, diary entries, and recollections of those closest to Wittgenstein reveal the philosopher’s ethical perspective on religion and his motivations as an individual.

Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Meaning of Life is essential reading for postgraduate and senior researchers involved in the study of Wittgenstein, as well as advanced philosophy students and non-specialists interested in Wittgenstein’s more humanistic writings and his engagement with religion and ethics.