Wittgenstein's Lectures: Cambridge 1930-1932. From the notes of John King and Desmond Lee.

WITTGENSTEIN, Ludwig.

Published by Rowman and Littlefield, Totowa, New Jersey, 1980

About this Item

Half title + TP + [v] = Contents + [vii] = Acknowledgement + ix-xvii = Introduction + [xix] = Quote page + 1-124. Octavo. First Edition, First Issue (Fr/McG: W.s lectures. Cambridge 1930-32, p. 46). First Edition of His Student's 1930-1932 NotesFor his first ever "Philosophy" course, Wittgenstein started by stating categorically the landscape of what lies ahead:Philosophy is an attempt to be rid of a particular kind of puzzlement. This "philosophic" puzzlement is one of the intellect and not of instinct. Philosophic puzzles are irrelevant to our every-day life. They are puzzles of language. Instinctively we use language rightly; but to the intellect this is a puzzle.While anticipating the mathematical emphasis that would be seen in his 1932-1935 lectures, this series is something of an "awkward phase" as Wittgenstein experimented with new ideas, but was not entirely willing to let go of his old style. That said, it offers useful and novel formulations regarding his philosophy of language, blending the future precision of the Philosophical Investigations with some familiar content from the Tractatus. Regarding the accuracy of these important and revealing notes, John King claimed - with Desmond Lee commenting - that:To the best of my ability I concentrated on taking down whatever W. said verbatim. I never made any attempt to find my own terms, comparisons or examples, nor to alter his words or their order. The effort of note-taking made such changes impossible, even if I had felt capable of making them. W. never dictated notes but treated his lectures and discussions as if he were doing so. Of course not everything could be got down, but I got down all I could. The difficulty lay in following what was often a difficult argument, with frequent digressions, harking back and repetition, and… if he would often hesitate and pause before speaking it was in J.E.K.'s words from "his intense desire to pick just the right word or phrase for his purpose, or to choose the most telling illustration or example to convey his meaning. He must have the exact word or phrase; nothing else would do." [See our Catalog 24: Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Man and His Thought for a collection of 81 books and pamphlets by and about Wittgenstein.] Publisher's original photo dust jacket with green lettering to the front and the spine. The rear panel has a black and white listing of other Wittgenstein books "also this series". Over the publisher's original green cloth boards with gilt lettering on the spine. With former owner's (Robert F Thimmesh) bookplate to the inside front cover and his signature to the top of the title page. Otherwise, an immaculate copy of the important and popular book of Wittgenstein's earliest lectures. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.

Seller Inventory # 1321

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Wittgenstein's Lectures: Cambridge 1930-1932. From the notes of John King and Desmond Lee.
• Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield, Totowa, New Jersey
• Publication Date: 1980
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE.
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Seller catalogs:
  • Philosophy & Religions