Wittgenstein on Mind and Language y First printing Edition

Ludwig Wittgenstein is considered by many to be the most important philosopher of the 20th century. He is also one of the most difficult. David G. Stern's "Wittgenstein on Mind and Language" is one of the very best books anyone - novice or expert -- could consult regarding Wittgenstein's thought. Wittgenstein was concerned, among other things, with the relationship between language and the world, subjectivity and the empirical, and what we can talk about sensibly and what we "must pass over in silence." Stern's book is one of the most accessible secondary sources for helping one to get a foothold with Wittgenstein's philosophy. Stern does a masterful job in giving the reader "the big picture" of what Wittgenstein was trying to get across, while also exploring the most essential details of his thought. Stern's text is interspersed with quotations from Wittgenstein's published works, but also from his unpublished notes, notes from his students, and other sources, which really help shed light on Wittgenstein philosophy. Stern includes a modest amount of biographical material, but his real focus is illuminating Wittgenstein's revolutionary way of looking at traditional philosophical problems. This book, along with Steve Toulmin's "Wittgenstein's Vienna" are two of the very best places to start with Wittgenstein's thought, though experts will also find much of interest in both books. Stern's book is best for those primarily concerned with Wittgenstein's philosophy, while Toulmin's book is equally concerned with biography as it is with philosophy, and hence might appeal to those who want the least abstract introduction to Wittgenstein.

Stern is an articulate and lucid author, wringing out the psychological and linguistic principles of Wittgenstein's often difficult, tortuous, and quixotic thought. Let's face it: "The Philosophical Investigations" and "Tractatus" are not the easist reads -- even for the professional. Stern compares and contrasts Wittgensteins early and later thought, honing in on how his later thought reversed some of his earlier thinking. And, unlike so many other Wittgenstein interpreters, Stern has researched the philosopher's massive, and oftentimes confusing, unpublished notebooks, manuscripts, typescripts, and diaries, in addition to the usual published primary texts, to present a coherent, logical, and detailed analysis of Wittgenstein's thought. Stern is to be congratulated for his polished, clear, and unambiguous writing, a feat not often accomplished by philosophers. Highly recommended for both novices and scholars.