Ray Monk, 199 1, Monk won the Duff Cooper Award for The Biography of Wittgenstein: A Genius of Responsibility. Other biographies include Russell's biography and Oppenheimer's biography.
Biography of Wittgenstein: Genius as responsibility is the biography of philosopher Wittgenstein. Different from other related biographies, The Biography of Wittgenstein: The Responsibility of Genius is more designed for Wittgenstein's life and personality, so not only Wittgenstein's researchers, but also ordinary readers interested in philosophy can get rich and in-depth reading experience from it. The media recommended that Munch's Biography of Wittgenstein is rich in content, easy to understand and easy to read, and it is recognized as the best biography of Wittgenstein. In my opinion, it is really a rare masterpiece in the biography of thinkers, which not only shows us the profound soul life of this great thinker, but also helps us to understand his philosophical thoughts. Translator Wang Yu, fluent in both Chinese and English, is worthy of the original work. -Chen Jiaying Monk's biography is profound and delicious for ordinary readers ... a wonderful portrayal of a wonderful life. The guardian
Rereading Ray Monk's Wittgenstein Biography: Genius as Responsibility
With the passage of time, Wittgenstein returned to nature in thought, and Russell continued to play the role of savior of civilization. -Who's the superior? Maybe people have different views. I personally voted for Shen Wei: Wittgenstein was a great thinker, who really expounded the nature of the world and individuals. Comparatively speaking, Russell is a bit vulgar.
The difference with Russell stems from Wittgenstein's religious belief and mysticism, which the atheist Russell can't tolerate. But actually Wittgenstein is not a formal believer. It was only after the baptism of World War I that he suddenly felt that people could not live without faith, and Wittgenstein's life was religious, although he did not believe in most Catholic teachings.
When Wittgenstein was a primary school teacher in a poor village in Austria, after teaching several excellent students, Xiaozao was rejected by the students themselves and their parents, which reminded me of what someone said the other day.
-Students in poor areas are often unwilling to go to school by themselves or at home, even if outsiders go to literacy or invest in local education. Because people or families in the hinterland have pressure to survive. At the same time, Wittgenstein's clever rural students are unwilling to continue their studies in Vienna because of their self-esteem. One student felt that it was a kindness to him, that he was humiliated, and that he was always grateful, so he was willing to give up Wittgenstein's kindness and selfless help.
For a genius, when and where to write, how to write and what to write will not affect the quality of the work. In addition, Wittgenstein's works mainly involve speculative philosophy. Therefore, Shen Wei did not understand and laughed at the behavior of readers who insisted on knowing his age.
Wittgenstein puts self-cultivation and introspection in the first place, which is quite close to the wisdom of saints: self-cultivation, governing the country and leveling the world. ....
Compared with Russell, Wittgenstein is a truly serious scholar, although Russell is open-minded. Russell had given up academic re-creation in his later period and was content to be a social speaker and best-selling author. In addition, Wittgenstein thinks that Russell's Principles of Mathematics is full of mistakes and should be restarted rather than reprinted.
In the first half of the 20th century, a large number of people came out of Cambridge, including Wittgenstein, Russell, Keynes and other masters. Ramsey was only an undergraduate at that time, but he was able to appreciate some of Wittgenstein's works, Philosophy of Logic, and was favored by Russell, who assisted Russell in reprinting and commenting on the Principles of Mathematics co-authored by Russell and alfred north whitehead. Judging from Ramsey's letters to Wittgenstein and comments on Russell and Whitehead's works, Ramsey's IQ and views are closer to Wittgenstein than Russell's.
As for the relationship between Wittgenstein and Keynes, it is somewhat intriguing. Generally speaking, Keynes may still be shy in front of Wittgenstein, so although he tried his best to arrange W to return to Cambridge from teaching in the Austrian countryside, he also funded W's travel expenses (because Wittgenstein completely gave up his personal heritage and would rather be poor). So K didn't write to Wittgenstein (W). This also shows that the great god Keynes is different: first of all, Keynes probably feels that he can't afford to discuss Wittgenstein's brain-burning philosophy with him ... think about it, if Keynes, an economic genius, makes himself scold Wittgenstein like Russell! Haha, Shen Kai is another genius after all: he doesn't give Wittgenstein such a "humiliating" opportunity!
? Shen Wei is very profound. He opposes any worship of science. Modern society has actually moved from religious worship to scientific worship. The omnipotence of science is inevitably declining the development of humanities and people's sensitivity to culture and art, as carl schmitt's "Political Theology" expounds: all norms and theories in modern society are secularized theology- ...
? People often don't cherish 100% faithful love because it comes too easily. Especially Wittgenstein, a genius with many disciples, has too many choices, but he may not get a perfect love destination. Character is fate?
? Wittgenstein has been wandering and tearing between realistic sexual and spiritual love and same-sex friendship all his life. What he needs most is a special intimacy beyond ordinary friendship. It is not easy. Generally, people with this quality will madly love him, such as Skinner, but Wittgenstein doesn't particularly like the kind of love that is too dedicated to each other. However, a friendship that is not intimate enough is not easy to get Wittgenstein's excessive concentration. If Wittgenstein does not become a professor and a large number of disciples and admirers do not give him warmth, it is estimated that he will die young or commit suicide, just like his three brothers?
? "Everything is what it is, nothing else." Neville: Inscription for the Study of Tegenstein's Philosophy.
? It is gratifying to see Wittgenstein die with several of his favorite friends. W's last words: tell them I'm doing well.
Personally, I feel that philosophy and art are always paranoid to a great extent, and every genius is a paranoid perfectionist. For example, people like Van Gogh.
Their left hand is a genius and their right hand is a madman. An Austrian Jewish rich second generation who gave up all his wealth, and a gay Cambridge professor with a family history of suicidal tendencies ended their lonely lives with differences in a state of long-term high schizophrenia. The root of the crisis is himself, as if his life is a battle with his own nature.
After reading this autobiography, I feel a curse on everyone who is only half talented, just like someone holding a lamp in a dark corridor leading you. Just when you were halfway through, the light went out and you were left alone. Or you are walking on the edge of a cliff. I saw many dead scientists and philosophers lying under the cliff, and he was standing below.
In the words often quoted by karl kraus, Vienna at the end of the century is a "testing ground for studying the destruction of the world"-it is the birthplace of Zionism and Nazism, the place where Freud established psychoanalysis, the place where Klimt, Scheler and Kokoshka launched the "youth style" movement in the art field, the place where Schoenberg established atonal music, and the place where Adolf Ruth introduced fully functional and unadorned architectural style (modern). In almost every field of human thought and action, new things are emerging in the old things, and the 20th century is emerging in the19th century.
In the long run, Wittgenstein may have made it clear that the only life worth living is to realize his greater responsibility: the responsibility to himself-the responsibility to his genius. What good is it for a man to win the whole world and lose his own soul?
He is such a person, a perfectionist, paranoid, sensitive and neurotic person. He evaded the responsibility of his family and chose the responsibility as a "genius", but he also constantly doubted and denied himself. The process of doubt and denial became his philosophy. His neurotic temper does not allow others to criticize him, which is simply a big "self", but people should not live such a "self"
Wittgenstein's life is a constant repetition of the two worlds of ice and fire. Whenever there was a slight improvement, he began to exile himself, feeling that he was "exhausted by Jiang Lang" or "unworthy of bourgeois life and wanted to create value through labor". I feel that he lived in this "paranoid truth" until his death. He didn't feel his happiness, but he felt his inner contradiction and no exit. The so-called "manual labor" is not his real export, but a tool to ease his inner contradictions, because excessive energy dissipation and relatively mechanical work can make him passively stop thinking and don't have to face the contradictory heart.
But he has a wonderful life. A wayward child tripped over every place he thought of. Even if others seem to have taken many detours, he did not pursue victory when paving the road, but changed the direction of life at any time with his own mind. In fact, no matter what, I will spend my life and choose my own life instead of being enslaved by life. This is the biggest touch that Wittgenstein brought to me.
Finally, just improve yourself. This is the best way to improve the world.