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1st out of 86 books
—
19 voters
Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius
by
Ray Monk
"Great philosophical biographies can be counted on one hand. Monk's life of Wittgenstein is such a one."—The Christian Science Monitor.
Paperback, 654 pages
Published
November 1st 1991
by Penguin Books
(first published 1990)
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A book that illuminates Wittgenstein’s ideas by showing us his life. Alternately, it illuminates his life by showing us his ideas. Flip-flop, mish-mosh, two sides of the same coin. His ideas grew organically from his life, in the same way that his Picture Theory claims that a picture is not a mental representation of a fact but is a fact itself, so that understanding comes immediately from seeing (not through abstraction and representation). This method of illumination works more for Wittgenstei...more
A perfect mix of biography and philosophical exposition. Pretty much tells you everything you would ever want to know about the man and what he believed. Also attempts to debunk some myths about him and make clear the kind of character he had.
Not much to say about it, I have already commented on Wittgenstein's philosophy in other reviews and don't have much to say about his life other than, he clearly has to be in the top three most interesting philosophers of all time. Even if you hate him, wh...more
Not much to say about it, I have already commented on Wittgenstein's philosophy in other reviews and don't have much to say about his life other than, he clearly has to be in the top three most interesting philosophers of all time. Even if you hate him, wh...more
1 like · like · see review
For non-philosophers, this is probably the book to read if you are curious about who that Wittgenstein fellow was. For philosophers, I noted three things. First, I did not experience any professional winces (an example of a professional wince--once, when I was taking a literature class in graduate school, the professor commented in lecture that the most important philosophical event of the 20th century was Wittgenstein's suicide, to which I replied patiently that perhaps it would be, except that...more
4 likes · like · see review
Portrait of the Thinker as a Man
If you want to understand Ludwig Wittgenstein, the thinker and the man, turn to the very last page of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, the only philosophical work published in his lifetime. There you will find in all of its gnomic beauty one of the best remembered and most quoted propositions of all: Whereof we cannot speak thereof we must be silent.
That’s just the thing: he wasn’t silent. Most of his life after the publication of the Tractatus was a pursuit of t...more
If you want to understand Ludwig Wittgenstein, the thinker and the man, turn to the very last page of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, the only philosophical work published in his lifetime. There you will find in all of its gnomic beauty one of the best remembered and most quoted propositions of all: Whereof we cannot speak thereof we must be silent.
That’s just the thing: he wasn’t silent. Most of his life after the publication of the Tractatus was a pursuit of t...more
7 likes · like · see review
As introspective and bookish as you might expect a philosopher as head-spinning as Wittgenstein to be, his actual day-to-day life is pretty interesting. Two anecdotes that most immediately come to mind: 1. After fighting in World War I (throughout which he was hellbent on fighting on the front-lines), Wittgenstein, by inheritance one of the richest men in Austria at the time, gave away ALL of his money to become a country school teacher, believing that he could not live authentically otherwise....more
2 likes · like · see review
Monk's biography draws a vivid picture of Wittgenstein's life. I had read some of his biography of Russell previously, but I found his study of Wittgenstein far more interesting. No doubt, this preference had something to do with the strange, existential odyssey that was W's life. He seemed to be driven on by a restlessness as well as an irrational, suicidal desire for greatness (at least in his younger years). Not completely a bad thing, I suppose, but it tormented W and pushed him away from co...more
As I start, I have to remind myself to separate my thoughts on the writing, events selected, tone and style of the author from my feelings about L.W. On that schedule, I enjoyed the book very much. It does not necessarily read like a novel, but it does maintain good pacing to have kept me coming back to it over it's 500+ pages to discover what came next.
At times, at least the first half, if not the first three fifths, I did not find much to like about L.W. He was, at least from my perspective,...more
At times, at least the first half, if not the first three fifths, I did not find much to like about L.W. He was, at least from my perspective,...more
Apr 11, 2007
Jason
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those interested in analytic philosophy, Wittgenstein, and early 20th century history
Shelves:
biography,
philosophy
Monk's biography of Wittgenstein is one of the best introductions not only to old Ludwig, but also to analytic philosophy and the intellectual climate of Europe in the early part of the 20th century. Monk's narration of the complex genius of Wittgenstein, and his almost insufferable personality, is a must-read for those interested in him and his time.
Monk's account of Wittgenstein sets a high standard for the biographical genre. Monk vividly details the life of the eccentric philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. The greatest achievement of this book is its ability to reveal the inner workings of a brilliant, but troubled mind. We discover how brilliance is often accompanied by pain and tragedy.
Monk exposes the extraordinary genius, whose life was equally extraordinary. Wittgenstein was born into a life of wealth, privilege and high society. He w...more
Monk exposes the extraordinary genius, whose life was equally extraordinary. Wittgenstein was born into a life of wealth, privilege and high society. He w...more
"Tell them I had a wonderful life". The last, often quoted words from Wittgenstein are not far from being objective, in hindsight.
Ludwig asked blessing to Russell to be a genius (and Russell himself considered him as the next best thing to happen in philosophy at the time, the one who would clear out the troubles of his work on mathematical foundations); during both world wars, he put partly aside is main activity to dedicate to manual, hard work; after the first war, he was imprisoned in Monte...more
Ludwig asked blessing to Russell to be a genius (and Russell himself considered him as the next best thing to happen in philosophy at the time, the one who would clear out the troubles of his work on mathematical foundations); during both world wars, he put partly aside is main activity to dedicate to manual, hard work; after the first war, he was imprisoned in Monte...more
I would not have done quite so well in my Introduction to Metaphysics course, of which the Tractatus was a great part, had I not read this biography. It explains the odd verbiage and starkness of Wittgenstein's short yet influential work more than any explanation of the actual philosophy of the Tractatus could. Its accessibility makes it a great introductory work to Wittgenstein.
Aug 02, 2011
Jamie Bolland
added it
Read this after reading McGuinness' first part account of his life. There wasn't a second book produced so I read this one to fill in the blanks.
I first became interested in Wittgenstein after reading the popular science book Wittgenstein's Poker - about his confrontation with Karl Popper, and by turns an account of his life.
Ray Monk has written a very coherent, insightful biography of one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century. He effectively explains many of Wittgenstein's key ideas in ways that are accessible to the layperson, and puts his thinking into the critical context of a life that spanned enormous personal and social upheaval.
I managed to finish this book quite easily, and I found the second half of it particularly gripping. This came as a surprise to me, seeing as I was ready to abandon it some 100 pages into it. The constant discussion or the 'genius or nothing' theme reminded me of my own painful mediocrity in philosophy and my involvement in it as a wasted opportunity. I was on the brink of abandoning it when it kept making me feel quite depressed. I pushed through and enjoyed the outline of Wittgenstein's ideas...more
This is one of the best biographies I've ever read. Monk does a great job combining personal history with an accurate general overview of Wittgenstein's intellectual evolution. It sort of destroyed me in college for a bit, but I'd highly highly recommend this book.
I give it two stars more because of its subject matter than its presentation. Monk seems like a good biographer (although he doesn't spend enough time on Wittgenstein's childhood), but now I'm convinced that Ludwig Wittgenstein was a complete fraud.
There was a lot of good biographical information and the writing was fairly well done, but there was almost no discussion of Wittgenstein's philosophical views and I felt that the book provided little insight into his psychology.
I found the going a little too long and just not worth my time, although the book gets high marks from most anybody I know and respect who have actually read it, or said they did.
man, wittgenstien seems like such a nice, cool guy (and one of the few that i dont get offended when their bio has the g word in it), but i disagree with him
I read this book years ago, and I liked it. I remember the anecdote relating Wittgenstein's figuring out how to fix a machine that had broken. At the time, Wittgenstein was living and teaching in a small town. How he came to be there I don't remember. I decided to write about this now because of a "sermon" I heard yesterday (at our Unitarian Universalist fellowship) about the human brain. Our brain has evolved, and we still have brain functions like those of lizards, like those of small furry ma...more
THE book to read if you want to understand the man and his work. Both a great biography and a great work of philosophical exposition.
A competent biography. One can calibrate it with the author's work on Russell, who I think is a much more interesting subject.
Amazing bio of a man who rarely smiled and was one of the great mind of our history. So thoughtful ii is a joy to read.
Stephen
Stephen
All that I could hope for in a biography of one of my favorite figures in both philosophy and, more generally, humanity.
Not only how we say things but also what's the meaning of saying those things and on top of that is there even a language to convey your thoughts - it's mind boggling and Wittgenstein was the genius trying to sort out this muck -with respect to language and what we are.
A man named Ray Monk (almost a punk rock name me think) wrote a fascinating biography on a man who is never settled with his times. Always super cool (really cool) this is a man that lead one's who read his books to another level...more
A man named Ray Monk (almost a punk rock name me think) wrote a fascinating biography on a man who is never settled with his times. Always super cool (really cool) this is a man that lead one's who read his books to another level...more
Nov 05, 2012
Rola
marked it as to-check
هذا غالبا هو الكتاب الخاص بسيرة الفيلسوف فيتغنشتاين المحكى عنه فى كتاب حماقات بروكلين :))
A fine and well-crafted biography of both the man and his ideas. I'm not sure anyone can do justice to Wittgenstein, but Monk's "The Duty of Genius" is certainly going to be the standard work. Pair this with Monk's little "How To Read Wittgenstein", too.
This is one of those rare biographies that does an excellent job of both telling the story of the philosopher's life and discussing where the philosopher was going with his philosophy.
In fact, Monk successfully shows the impact of events in Wittgenstein's life to the projects he took on in philosophy.
This is an all around great book.
In fact, Monk successfully shows the impact of events in Wittgenstein's life to the projects he took on in philosophy.
This is an all around great book.
A strange and wonderful human being. Not a bad book either
Really, the only philosopher that really matters...
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| philosophy | 2 | 31 | Dec 26, 2012 10:49am |
Ray Monk is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton, where he has taught since 1992.
He won the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the 1991 Duff Cooper Prize for Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius. His interests lie in the philosophy of mathematics, the history of analytic philosophy, and philosophical aspects of biographical writing. He is currently working on a b...more
More about Ray Monk...
He won the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the 1991 Duff Cooper Prize for Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius. His interests lie in the philosophy of mathematics, the history of analytic philosophy, and philosophical aspects of biographical writing. He is currently working on a b...more
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Jun 09, 2011 06:39am
Aug 31, 2012 12:58pm