Pulling Up The Ladder: The Metaphysical Roots of Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

Pulling Up The Ladder: The Metaphysical Roots of Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Brockhaus, Richard. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780812691269.

"Pulling up the Ladder" discusses how Wittgensteins early philosophy became widely known largely through the efforts of Russell and other empirically-minded British philosophers, and to a lesser extent, the scientifically-oriented German-speaking philosophers of the Vienna Circle. However, Wittgensteins primary philosophical concerns arose in a far different context, and failure to grasp this has led to many misunderstandings of the "Tractatus". From Brockhaus investigation of that context and its problems emerges this new interpretation of Wittgensteins early thought, which also affords fresh insights into the later Wittgenstein. Wittgensteins first philosophy was a Schopenhauerian neo-Kantianism, and although he soon rejected much of the substance of Schopenhauers work, his problems remained closely connected with Schopenhauers view of the world and mans relation to it. Wittgensteins early philosophy is a departure from Schopenhauer - a rigorously purified form, so to speak, of Schopenhauers "World as Will and Representation". In "Pulling up the Ladder", Brockhaus explains Schopenhauers system of the world as Will and Representation, then proceeds to investigate Freges realism and Hertzs conventionalistic philosophy of science - two of the elements which fuelled Wittgensteins purification of Schopenhauer.