Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics. First Edition - Ludwig Wittgenstein - Bauman Rare Books

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Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics.

Ludwig WITTGENSTEIN

Item#: 112187 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics.

"MATHEMATICS IS A MOTLEY OF TECHNIQUES AND PROOFS": FIRST EDITION OF WITTGENSTEIN'S REMARKS ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF MATHEMATICS

WITTGENSTEIN, Ludwig. Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics. Translated by G.E.M. Anscombe. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1956. Octavo, original blue cloth, original dust jacket.

First edition of Wittgenstein's philosophical exploration of mathematics, with parallel German and English text.

Wittgenstein had been studying aeronautical engineering at the University of Manchester when his "interest began to shift to pure mathematics and then to the philosophical foundations of mathematics. He chanced upon Bertrand Russell's Principles of Mathematics and was greatly excited by it. He decided to give up engineering and to study with Russell at Cambridge," where he was admitted to Trinity College in 1912 (Encyclopedia of Philosophy VIII:327). When Wittgenstein died in 1953, he left behind a large number of unfinished manuscripts. This work, on the philosophy of logic and mathematics, complements his highly influential Philosophical Investigations, published posthumously in 1953. In these works, Wittgenstein developed his concept of the "grammar" of language (including mathematics), stating that the meaning of language was determined by shared usage, that it was not a reflection the systematic unity of the world. Owner stamp.

Book fine, dust jacket nearly so with only mild toning to extremities. A handsome copy.

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