Portraits of Wittgenstein - Abridged by F a Flowers III & Ian Ground (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Portraits of Wittgenstein is a major collection of memoirs and reflections on one of the most influential and yet elusive personalities in the history of modern philosophy, Ludwig Wittgenstein. Featuring a wealth of illuminating and profound insights into Wittgenstein's extraordinary life, this unique collection reveals Wittgenstein's character and power of personality more vividly and comprehensively than ever before.

With portraits from more than 50 figures, Portraits of Wittgenstein brings together the personal recollections of philosophers, students, friends and acquaintances, including Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore, F. R. Leavis, A. J. Ayer, Karl Popper, Friedrich von Hayek, G. H. von Wright, Freeman Dyson, Iris Murdoch, Mary Midgley and Mary Warnock. These authors testify to the life-long influence Wittgenstein had on the lives of those he met. Their fascinating memoirs, reflections and commentaries, often at odds with each other, reveal Wittgenstein's kindness, and how much genuine friendship meant to him, as well as his suffering and despair. They show too how the philosopher's ruthless honesty and uncompromising integrity often resulted in stern advice and harsh rebukes to friends and foes alike.

Now abridged and available in paperback, this collection of valuable and hard-to-find material is an indispensable resource for scholars and students of the life and work of Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Review Quotes

"This is why a book such as Portraits of Wittgenstein makes such compelling reading ... It is a collection of essays written by people who knew or came into contact with Wittgenstein over the years. Most people who did so either hated him or loved him; almost all feared him ... Even someone, such as this writer, who thinks there are philosophical problems, can find himself fascinated by, even rapt in this kaleidoscopic portrait of a genius, a saint-like holy fool of philosophy who lived his philosophy to the uttermost." - The University Bookman

About the Author

F. A. Flowers III is a retired appellate lawyer. In addition to being the author of several legal publications, he is the Editor of the First Edition of this work, as well as the Editor of Leo Tolstoy's The Gospel in Brief (1997).

Ian Ground is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire, UK and Vice-President of the British Wittgenstein Society. He has published on topics in the philosophy of Wittgenstein, aesthetics and philosophical issues concerning the understanding of animal minds.