Wittgenstein in 90 Minutes

A useful brief biography of Wittgenstein. Which doesn't explain a great deal about Wittgenstein's philosophy, but it does give enough insight into the man himself that it would be a useful primer before trying to start diving into understanding the philosophy. Of the philosophy itself it explains little, other than to emphasise yet again how impossibly incomprehensible Wittgenstein is and how pointless it is for lesser minds (i.e. everyone except Wittgenstein and possibly Russell) to even try to understand it. So, partly successful.

A real good, brisk overview of the life and work of this eccentric and important (even controversial) thinker. Strathern includes the story of Ludwig's life (dramatic and altrusitic) as well as the evolution of his two philosophies. Supplementary material includes timelines of European and philosophy's history.

It's a bit like reading a British biography of Napoleon...

But, the thing is, philosophy deserves what it's got coming to it, not unlike Napoleon....

So the book, eh, mediocre.

But I suppose it does succeed in being mediocre, even though the author is a peevish nobody who breaks out into a cold (and angry) sweat every time he realizes that Wittgenstein might be trying to wreck his tenure, here.

But, for a philosopher, I suppose that mediocrity has to be considered a certain degree of success.

(7/10)

Compacte, heldere en kritische bespreking van Wittgenstein en zijn werk. Zeer aan te bevelen inleiding.

Una introducción y un epílogo sitúan la obra de Wittgenstein dentro del panorama de la filosofía, también el autor ofrece una extensa lista cronológica. Finalmente, destaca algunos de los argumentos claves de este filósofo con una selección de citas de sus libros.