berlinblogger | 
05 23rd, 2011| 
Until the 13th of June, the work of the famous philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein will be on exhibition at the Gay Museum in Berlin. Curators Jan Drehmel and Kristina Jaspers have organized this exhibition to commemorate the 60th anniversary of his death, recovering his original documents as well as his interior design and media facilities work.
Josef Ludwig Wittgenstein was born in Vienna in 1889. Son of a wealthy steel industrialist, he spent his childhood full of encouragement for art and culture that fostered his intellectual gifts. His house used to be frequented by people such as Brahms and Mahler, among other great artists of the time. He began studying engineering in Berlin and continued his studies in Manchester, where he focused on aeronautical research. In 1912, Wittgenstein read the three volumes of Principia of Mathematica by Bertrand Russell, and from that moment, his academic interests changed to the point that he moved to Trinity College in Cambridge to study pure mathematics and philosophy under the direction of Russell.
His passion for knowledge was focused on philosophy and particularly in linguistics. During the First World War he joined the Austro-Hungarian army and when he was taken prisoner by the Italians, he began taking notes of his thoughts. After the war, he published his book Tractatus Logico Philosophicus, which strongly influenced the logical positivists of Vienna Circle, a scientific philosophical movement that dealt with the logic of science. Years later, his further researches led him to harshly criticize the book.
Wittgenstein was an unusual man, lonely, depressed and humble. When his father died, he divided his inheritance among his sisters and some artists and intellectuals, leaving himself in poverty, working as a school teacher and gardener in a convent to live.
Although, he was recognized as a great thinker due to his contributions to philosophical logic and linguistics, his constant depression kept him away from meetings with his peers for long periods.
Wittgenstein´s work is divided into two stages. One, marked by the publication of his book Tractatus Logico Philosophicus, which seeks a solution to the unresolved dilemmas of positivism towards mathematics and philosophy. And a second stage in which his philosophical investigations, allow him to develop the analytic philosophy, by focusing the reflection on the study of linguistics as a way to transform the philosophical discussion.
His great artistic sensitivity, acquired during childhood, led him to venture into in architecture, music and sculpture. However, his –second to none- capacity of reflection and thinking made of him an extraordinary philosopher. During the Second World War he enlisted as a nurse and at his return, he started to write: The blue and brown books and Philosophical Investigations.
For more information visit http://www.schwulesmuseum.de/
Nancy Guzman
Quite an experience to visit the Gay Museum to see this remarkable exhibition about a philosopher who lived through the conflict of sexuality in an intolerant society and who despite this, shone for his intelligence, humanity and generosity. Do not miss it if you are enjoying apartments in Berlin
Translated by: Hans
Contact Me
