Alois Pichler and Simo Saatela (eds.), Wittgenstein: The Philosopher and His Works, The Wittgenstein Archives at The University of Bergen, Norway, 2005, Pp. 420.

Book Review: Alois Pichler and Simo Saatela (eds.), Wittgenstein: The Philosopher and his Works, The Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen, Norway, 2005, Cadernos de Filosofia, An International Journal of Philosophy, Lisbon, Number 22, 2007, ISSN 0873-7282, pp.125-134.(Refereed Journal).

Book Review:

Alois Pichler and Simo Saatela (eds.), Wittgenstein: The Philosopher and his Works, The Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen, Norway, 2005, pp. 420.

The anthology Wittgenstein: The Philosopher and his Works is a magnum opus and not only a collection of presentations at a conference ‘Wittgenstein’s Research Revisited’ which was organized in 2001 at Bergen in order to mark the 50th anniversary of Wittgenstein’s death, completion of the publication of the Bergen Electronic Edition (henceforth BEE) of Wittgenstein’s Nachlass, and the beginning of a new millennium. It consists of 17 articles, an insightful and meticulous introduction, bibliography, about authors and the abstract of essays, index and a list of working papers from the Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen.

The editorial introduction describes interlinks among various essays, how essays raise arguments in support of their conclusions, and at times also shows the abrupt stoppage of their arguments. In brief, the introduction is an inevitable part as well as a window to have a panoramic view of the anthology.

At the outset it is appropriate to point out that although a profound remark of the introduction classifieds entire Wittgensteinism into three attitudes, namely, the monumental, i.e. proper understanding of Wittgenstein’s philosophy, the antiquarian, i.e. placing Wittgenstein’s works in a biographical and historical context, and the critical, i.e. the use of Wittgenstein’s methods in dissolving philosophical problems, yet there is a logical possibility that a work on Wittgenstein, like this anthology itself, constitutes all the above described open-ended attitudes.

It is very pleasant to find that the anthology begins with a first hand account of Tranoy which holds that ‘in Wittgenstein’s case in particular…it is difficult or even impossible to draw a line between philosophical and non-philosophical life’(p.14). Here, two issues which Knut Erik Tranoy takes up for discussion, i.e. the role of philosophy in Wittgenstein’s life and the role of a philosopher’s philosophy in other’s life, are based on his ‘encounters with Wittgenstein’. He quite scholarly brings out Wittgenstein’s remark that he could ‘harm’ only two or three students. The question arises as to what constitutes the ‘harm’ (transforming other’s attitude towards life and living)? Tranoy leaves it unexplained which on the one hand shows that there is no definitive reply to such issues in Wittgensteinism and on the other hand, one may be tempted to have a dialogue with him about his talks with Wittgenstein.