WITTGENSTEIN, Ludwig (1889-1951). Two autograph letters signed (‘Lud Wittgen’ and 'L Wittgen') to [Moritz] Schlick, n.p. [Cambridge], n.d. [22 August and 27 November 1930].

WITTGENSTEIN, Ludwig (1889-1951). Two autograph letters signed (‘Lud Wittgen’ and 'L Wittgen') to [Moritz] Schlick, n.p. [Cambridge], n.d. [22 August and 27 November 1930].

In German. 3 pages in total, 269 x 212mm and 228 x 176mm, the first letter in pencil. Envelopes.

A return to philosophy: two letters from Wittgenstein to Moritz Schlick, the head of the ‘Vienna Circle’. Wittgenstein's letter of 22 August notes that he has heard from [Freidrich] Waismann, who might not be able to come on the Koenigsberg trip: 'I am sorry about that, for selfish reasons. Things are going better with my work, if not terribly well; I am simultaneously dull and undisciplined. But I shouldn't complain...'. The second, longer letter of 27 November opens with his thanks for Schlick's book [probably Fragen der Ethik (1930)]: 'I've only just looked at it. I suspect there will be many points on which I won't agree with you. But maybe these contradictions will be more easily solved than it first appears'. He then apologises for the fact that it will be impossible to write any more on the matter – or even to think clearly – as he is still struggling with the effects of a bout 'flu, but hopes to be in Vienna in 10-14 days and to see Schlick then. He signs off adding his greetings to Waismann.

At this time, Moritz Schlick – head of the ‘Vienna Circle’, a group of scientists and philosophers whose principal inspiration was the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus – was collaborating with Wittgenstein, with the aid of Friedrich Waismann, in an attempt to write an account of Wittgenstein’s current philosophical stance, and in 1926 he was able to persuade Wittgenstein to start attending the Circle's meetings. Although it subsequently became clear that Wittgenstein's approach to philosophy differed substantially from the discussion group he had inspired, his interaction with Schlick is often credited in part for his re-engagement with philosophy after some years of disengagement, during which he worked as a gardener and considered becoming a monk.

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