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Notebooks, 1914–1916
The writings intersperse Wittgenstein's technical logical notations with his thoughts on the meaning of life, happiness, and death.
"A glimpse of the workings of Wittgenstein's mind during the period when the seminal ideas of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus were being worked out."
—T. Michael McNulty, SJ, Modern Schoolman
"A glimpse of the workings of Wittgenstein's mind during the period when the seminal ideas of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus were being worked out."
—T. Michael McNulty, SJ, Modern Schoolman
131 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1916
About the author
Ludwig Wittgenstein
319 books3,041 followersLudwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (Ph.D., Trinity College, Cambridge University, 1929) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language.
Described by Bertrand Russell as "the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived, passionate, profound, intense, and dominating", he helped inspire two of the twentieth century's principal philosophical movements: the Vienna Circle and Oxford ordinary language philosophy. According to an end of the century poll, professional philosophers in Canada and the U.S. rank both his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations among the top five most important books in twentieth-century philosophy, the latter standing out as "...the one crossover masterpiece in twentieth-century philosophy, appealing across diverse specializations and philosophical orientations". Wittgenstein's influence has been felt in nearly every field of the humanities and social sciences, yet there are widely diverging interpretations of his thought.
Described by Bertrand Russell as "the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived, passionate, profound, intense, and dominating", he helped inspire two of the twentieth century's principal philosophical movements: the Vienna Circle and Oxford ordinary language philosophy. According to an end of the century poll, professional philosophers in Canada and the U.S. rank both his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations among the top five most important books in twentieth-century philosophy, the latter standing out as "...the one crossover masterpiece in twentieth-century philosophy, appealing across diverse specializations and philosophical orientations". Wittgenstein's influence has been felt in nearly every field of the humanities and social sciences, yet there are widely diverging interpretations of his thought.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 24, 2021
expected to find some insights into his views, his mental state, how he experienced war... turns out the answer to all three is philosophy and formal logic, the thing that compromises 95% of these notebooks; i find it really funny that's all he cared to write about but i only enjoy the contents for skimming through at best
his german would be easy enough to read (not understand) if it weren't for all the technical terms
his german would be easy enough to read (not understand) if it weren't for all the technical terms
December 30, 2024
Kişisel notları zannetmiştim. Fakat felsefesi ile ilgili akıl yürütme notları.
September 15, 2018
Though challenging for me because its subject matter is symbolic logic, Notebooks offers the reader an opportunity to experience Wittgenstein's interrogative technique for the philosophical problem of meaning. The experimentation of thought, the questioning that leads him beyond logic as a formal system (which can take care of itself), and the recurring interrogation of the meaning of logic that will be fully developed in the Tractatus and Philosophical Investigation are all present. As such, the Notebooks help to offer a more complete picture of how Wittgenstien thinks, the continuity of his thought, and how an open questioning of simple problems can lead to deeper insights. An excellent supporting work.
August 16, 2022
The book isn’t bad at all. However it is much if Wittgenstein’s personal journal during the Great War. It does have the embryonic beginnings of the Tractatus, including his reactions to Tolstoy’s “The Gospel in Brief”, Goethe and Nietszche.
However, most of the book is him complaining he can’t work, how much he doesn’t fit in with the grunts in the war, and records of him masturbating or not.
However, most of the book is him complaining he can’t work, how much he doesn’t fit in with the grunts in the war, and records of him masturbating or not.
December 31, 2025
Nice supplements for understanding early Wittgenstein, or how his thought developed. It's mostly a sort of proto-Tractatus, though it gets pretty mystical near the end (similar to the actual Tractatus). You'd expect to see his reflections on the war in his private journals at least (since he was on the front at this time), but you're treated to none of that.
Some funny quotes:
"Life is serious, art is gay."
"It is one of the chief skills of the philosopher not to occupy himself with questions which do not concern him."
"(Here there is still a definite and decisive lack of clarity in my theory. Hence a certain feeling of dissatisfaction!)"
"(One of the most difficult of the philosopher's tasks is to find out where the shoe pinches.)"
"Don't worry about what you have already written. Just keep on
beginning to think afresh as if nothing at all had happened yet."
"(One often tries to jump over too wide chasms of thought and then falls in.)"
Some funny quotes:
"Life is serious, art is gay."
"It is one of the chief skills of the philosopher not to occupy himself with questions which do not concern him."
"(Here there is still a definite and decisive lack of clarity in my theory. Hence a certain feeling of dissatisfaction!)"
"(One of the most difficult of the philosopher's tasks is to find out where the shoe pinches.)"
"Don't worry about what you have already written. Just keep on
beginning to think afresh as if nothing at all had happened yet."
"(One often tries to jump over too wide chasms of thought and then falls in.)"
February 7, 2023
Defterler, kesinlikle 'Acaba neyi nasıl düşünmüş'ü görmek için okunabilecek bir eser. Dil konusunda Prof. seviyesinin bile çözümlemekte güçlük çekebileceği önermeler var. Bizim ipin kısa olmasından değil, kuyunun aşırı derin olmasından kaynaklı.
Bunlarla beraber, Wittgenstein tüm defterlerini yaktırmıştır. Bu, erken seviyede tuttuğu ve Rockefeller'ın elinde tuttuğu arşivlerden derlemedir.
Bunlarla beraber, Wittgenstein tüm defterlerini yaktırmıştır. Bu, erken seviyede tuttuğu ve Rockefeller'ın elinde tuttuğu arşivlerden derlemedir.
September 29, 2018
Bir kez seven için Wittgenstein okumak gerçekten çok keyifli. Defterler de diğer kitaplar ile bir bütün aslında. Bence Tractatus Logico haricinde diğer tüm kitaplarını istediğiniz sırayla ve hatta karışık olarak okuyabilirsiniz.
June 30, 2019
Das Kunstwerk ist der Gegenstand sub specie aeternitatis gesehen; und das gute Leben ist die Welt sub specie aeternitatis. Dies ist der Zusammenhang zwischen Kunst und Ethik.
«اثر هنری دیدن شی از نگاه ابدیت است؛ و حیات نیکو، جهان از نگاه ابدیت است. وابستگی میان هنر و اخلاق این است»
«اثر هنری دیدن شی از نگاه ابدیت است؛ و حیات نیکو، جهان از نگاه ابدیت است. وابستگی میان هنر و اخلاق این است»
April 6, 2021
Actually incredible. This guys minor stuff is more interesting than most philosophy
February 27, 2022
Please read my articles 2003-2005.
July 21, 2022
If döbledutch were a book…
May 29, 2026
Notebooks 1914-1916
1. These are NOT notebooks. They are diary entries. They are clearly very personal.
2. Since they are diary entries of a very busy man, there is very little content.
3. I have no idea who decided that Wittgenstein's notebooks should be turned into a book.
C: If you're looking for a book about the deep personal thoughts of a famously genius philosopher, this is NOT it. It's more like a notebook containing niche historical factoids about Ludwig.
Summary of what I remember from reading this about a year ago:
- Wittgenstein willfully enlisted in WWI on the side of the Germans. Everyone hates him because he is the ONLY person who willfully enlisted on the losing side of the war. He feels like he needs to 'build character,' and if he could go through the war, then he would be complete as a man, i.e., the closer he was to dying, the closer he was to Being complete in his life.
- Everyone also hates him because he is a snobby, suicidal, introverted Cambridge man with zero social skills among the regiment.
- He is friends with and a correspondent of John Maynard Keynes (who is British), and they wish each other luck.
- He is consistently in love with a man named David Pinsent—a mathematician from Cambridge. In my opinion, this is one of the sweetest parts of his entries, where he journals how much he misses David and how excited he is for his letters. (Insights like this are rare throughout his Notebooks, but genuinely lovely to see.)
- He has a copy of Leo Tolstoy's "The Gospel in Brief" and uses that as his inspiration for the work of his magnum opus, the "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus." We get VERY little information about how he develops these thoughts throughout his journal. In fact, most of the content about the Tractatus is NOT IN HIS NOTEBOOKS.
-Later on, he mentions how he nearly died in artillery fire against Entente Forces, where he was cocooned alone with an artillery regiment, where he nearly dies. This grants him his wish and a medal of valor.
Great, that's most of the 'content' (I believe).
Actual Content:
The majority of the book is about him masturbating and saying 'made a lot of progress working today.'
I'm making this part up, but it does not stem far from how his notebooks are actually presented:
June 27 1916: Finished very little work, I can't stop thinking of David. Masturbated today.
June 28 1916: I heard my regiment members cackling and making jokes with each other. I can't understand why these heathens hate me. I finally received a letter from David! He says he is doing well
July 3 1916: Little work done today
July 5 1916: A little bit of work done. Masturbated.
July 6 1916: No work done, Masturbated again.
July 8 1916: Masturbated once more. Very little work has been done
July 9 1916: I have not received a letter from David. I think of him. I have masturbated once again.
July 11 1916: Still no letter from David. Masturbated.
July 12 1916: No letter. Little work done. "I masturbated again. It cannot go on like this" (this is an actual quote, and it is my favorite quote from his notebooks.)
July 13 1916: "The limits of our language are the limits of our world" (The tone shift between his masturbation, then coming up with one of the most profound and enduring statements of the 20th century, genuinely still makes me cackle today).
Overall, I don't know why anyone would really read this unless you're strange and into reading historical notes of Wittgenstein, or expected something genuinely baffling about his methodologies.
1. These are NOT notebooks. They are diary entries. They are clearly very personal.
2. Since they are diary entries of a very busy man, there is very little content.
3. I have no idea who decided that Wittgenstein's notebooks should be turned into a book.
C: If you're looking for a book about the deep personal thoughts of a famously genius philosopher, this is NOT it. It's more like a notebook containing niche historical factoids about Ludwig.
Summary of what I remember from reading this about a year ago:
- Wittgenstein willfully enlisted in WWI on the side of the Germans. Everyone hates him because he is the ONLY person who willfully enlisted on the losing side of the war. He feels like he needs to 'build character,' and if he could go through the war, then he would be complete as a man, i.e., the closer he was to dying, the closer he was to Being complete in his life.
- Everyone also hates him because he is a snobby, suicidal, introverted Cambridge man with zero social skills among the regiment.
- He is friends with and a correspondent of John Maynard Keynes (who is British), and they wish each other luck.
- He is consistently in love with a man named David Pinsent—a mathematician from Cambridge. In my opinion, this is one of the sweetest parts of his entries, where he journals how much he misses David and how excited he is for his letters. (Insights like this are rare throughout his Notebooks, but genuinely lovely to see.)
- He has a copy of Leo Tolstoy's "The Gospel in Brief" and uses that as his inspiration for the work of his magnum opus, the "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus." We get VERY little information about how he develops these thoughts throughout his journal. In fact, most of the content about the Tractatus is NOT IN HIS NOTEBOOKS.
-Later on, he mentions how he nearly died in artillery fire against Entente Forces, where he was cocooned alone with an artillery regiment, where he nearly dies. This grants him his wish and a medal of valor.
Great, that's most of the 'content' (I believe).
Actual Content:
The majority of the book is about him masturbating and saying 'made a lot of progress working today.'
I'm making this part up, but it does not stem far from how his notebooks are actually presented:
June 27 1916: Finished very little work, I can't stop thinking of David. Masturbated today.
June 28 1916: I heard my regiment members cackling and making jokes with each other. I can't understand why these heathens hate me. I finally received a letter from David! He says he is doing well
July 3 1916: Little work done today
July 5 1916: A little bit of work done. Masturbated.
July 6 1916: No work done, Masturbated again.
July 8 1916: Masturbated once more. Very little work has been done
July 9 1916: I have not received a letter from David. I think of him. I have masturbated once again.
July 11 1916: Still no letter from David. Masturbated.
July 12 1916: No letter. Little work done. "I masturbated again. It cannot go on like this" (this is an actual quote, and it is my favorite quote from his notebooks.)
July 13 1916: "The limits of our language are the limits of our world" (The tone shift between his masturbation, then coming up with one of the most profound and enduring statements of the 20th century, genuinely still makes me cackle today).
Overall, I don't know why anyone would really read this unless you're strange and into reading historical notes of Wittgenstein, or expected something genuinely baffling about his methodologies.
to-keep-reference
December 30, 2015Wittgenstein denuncia al Dios de la guerra y al desierto de las cosas en el cual lo bueno y lo malo son ahora indistinguibles, situando al mundo en el límite de la subjetividad tautológica: “Aquí puede verse al solipsismo coincidir con el realismo puro, si se lo piensa bien”.
Imperio Pág.281
Imperio Pág.281
June 8, 2012
I read this, along with many other materials about the author, while working as a teaching assistant for Dr. William Ellos, S.J. at Loyola University Chicago, Wittgenstein having been the subject of his dissertation which I was editing.
July 5, 2012
Fascinating to read side by side with Tractatus; several sections correspond almost word for word. Also worth comparing with letters written to friends and family during same period, consideration of impact of wartime experience on the development on his philosophy.
March 21, 2015
Pre-Tractatus Wittgenstein. Good stuff.
Want to Read
December 8, 2017#1
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews