{"title":"\"A Test of Fire of One's Character\": Ludwig Wittgenstein's Self-Examination by Means of War in World War I","authors":"Ulrich Arnswald","doi":"10.1353/oas.2024.a929388","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Abstract:</p><p>To place Ludwig Wittgenstein’s early philosophy specifically in the context of the Great War, which we now call the First World War, is absolutely decisive for understanding his <i>Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus</i>. According to the motto “Fear in face of death is the best sign of a false, i.e. bad, life” found in a July 1916 entry in Wittgenstein’s <i>Private Notebooks 1914–1916</i>, only recently translated into English for the first time, Wittgenstein tried to clarify the question of the meaning of life for himself in the middle of the raging war. These thoughts also changed the nature of his Tractatus from an originally purely logical work to an ethical, religious, and mystical one, as the <i>Notebooks</i> show us in parallel with the creation of the <i>Tractatus</i>. The abysses of war, the mystical, ethical, religious, and logical insights recognized in it, and the self-knowledge gained in war allowed his treatise to mature through the existential intensification caused by war.</p></p>","PeriodicalId":40350,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Austrian Studies","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Austrian Studies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1353/oas.2024.a929388","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
Abstract:
To place Ludwig Wittgenstein’s early philosophy specifically in the context of the Great War, which we now call the First World War, is absolutely decisive for understanding his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. According to the motto “Fear in face of death is the best sign of a false, i.e. bad, life” found in a July 1916 entry in Wittgenstein’s Private Notebooks 1914–1916, only recently translated into English for the first time, Wittgenstein tried to clarify the question of the meaning of life for himself in the middle of the raging war. These thoughts also changed the nature of his Tractatus from an originally purely logical work to an ethical, religious, and mystical one, as the Notebooks show us in parallel with the creation of the Tractatus. The abysses of war, the mystical, ethical, religious, and logical insights recognized in it, and the self-knowledge gained in war allowed his treatise to mature through the existential intensification caused by war.
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Austrian Studies is an interdisciplinary quarterly that publishes scholarly articles and book reviews on all aspects of the history and culture of Austria, Austro-Hungary, and the Habsburg territory. It is the flagship publication of the Austrian Studies Association and contains contributions in German and English from the world''s premiere scholars in the field of Austrian studies. The journal highlights scholarly work that draws on innovative methodologies and new ways of viewing Austrian history and culture. Although the journal was renamed in 2012 to reflect the increasing scope and diversity of its scholarship, it has a long lineage dating back over a half century as Modern Austrian Literature and, prior to that, The Journal of the International Arthur Schnitzler Research Association.
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