Journal article
The significance of Jewishness for Wittgenstein's philosophy
Inquiry (Oslo), Vol.43(4), pp.383-401
12/01/2000
DOI: 10.1080/002017400750051206
Abstract
Did Wittgenstein consider himself a Jew? Should we? Wittgenstein repeatedly wrote about Jews and Judaism in the 1930s, and biographical studies make it clear that this writing about Jewishness was a way in which he thought about the kind of person he was and the nature of his philosophical work. Those who have written about Wittgenstein on the Jews have drawn very different conclusions. But much of this debate is confused, because the notion of being a Jew, of Jewishness, is itself ambiguous and problematic. The paper provides a close reading of leading passages in which Wittgenstein discusses Jews and Jewishness, and argues that previous interpreters have been too quick to condemn or defend him. If we consider what it could mean to say that Wittgenstein was, or was not, a Jew, we will see that Wittgenstein's problems with 'Jewishness' arise out of the philosophically problematic nature of the concept, a philosophical problem he was unable to resolve. © 2000 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The significance of Jewishness for Wittgenstein's philosophy
- Creators
- David G Stern - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Inquiry (Oslo), Vol.43(4), pp.383-401
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- DOI
- 10.1080/002017400750051206
- ISSN
- 0020-174X
- eISSN
- 1502-3923
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 12/01/2000
- Academic Unit
- Philosophy
- Record Identifier
- 9984397194902771
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