About
The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Notebooks 23 May 1915 (TLP 5.6)
Wittgenstein’s World
Wittgenstein’s World is an independent project documenting places connected to Ludwig Wittgenstein’s life and work. It grew out of a personal interest in tracing his movements and exploring how his surroundings shaped his thinking.
Wittgenstein once described philosophy as a “synopsis of trivialities” – not new discoveries, but a new way of looking at what is already there. This website takes inspiration from that idea, hoping that this compilation of places connected to Wittgenstein might offer a fresh perspective on what is already known. It is worth noting that this is neither a systematic nor a complete overview of places related to Wittgenstein. Places are added at irregular intervals. In the spirit of Wittgenstein, the purpose of this website would be achieved if it afforded pleasure to someone who viewed it with interest.
Acknowledgements: My special thanks go to Elisabeth, who accompanied me on many journeys to the places where Wittgenstein lived and worked, thus making them possible in the first place. Thanks to everyone who joined me in my Wittgensteinian explorations.
Martin Wallner
wittgensteinsworld.org
martin@wittgensteinswelt.org
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (1889–1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher and is considered one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century.
Born in Neuwaldegg near Vienna into a wealthy industrialist family, Wittgenstein initially began studying engineering before turning to logic and philosophy, going on to study under Bertrand Russell in Cambridge. After serving in the First World War, he published his first major work in 1921/22, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (originally Logisch-Philosophische Abhandlung). In it, he developed a rigorously logical theory of language and the world, which culminates – unexpectedly – in a turn toward ethics.
After a longer break from philosophy – during which he worked as a primary school teacher in rural Lower Austria and as an architect in Vienna – Wittgenstein returned to Cambridge. In the 1930s and 1940s, he developed what would later become known as the Philosophical Investigations, his second major philosophical work. Marking a clear departure from his earlier views, this later philosophy emphasised the importance of everyday language and the context-dependence of meaning – captured in the concepts of language games and forms of life. His later work left a lasting impact on the philosophy of language, logic, and epistemology.
Wittgenstein led a reclusive life, yet maintained deep friendships and close personal relationships. He spent extended periods in Norway and Ireland, where he devoted himself intensely to his philosophical work. Wittgenstein died in Cambridge in 1951.
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