I made a few edits to the article. Note, the British Empiricists were all dead long before Wittgenstein; empiricism in the 20th century is generally referred to as just "empiricism" or (as propounded by the Vienna Circle) "logical empiricism." --LMS |
I made a few edits to the article. Note, the British Empiricists were all dead long before Wittgenstein; empiricism in the 20th century is generally referred to as just "empiricism" or (as propounded by the Vienna Circle) "logical empiricism." --LMS I don't think that the biography should try to explain his work or ideas in depth, but there's an essential connection between W's ideas and his bio. W. was convinced that he the Tractatus was his final work, and even the last word on the subject of philosophy, and so his return to philosophy results primarily from his growing dissatisfaction with the Tractatus. Moreover, he probably would not have returned to philosophy if nobody was paying attention to what he called his "mistakes." Certianly we should have pages for his major works, which explain his ideas, and seprate section of the main page which expresses a short summary of his ideas independantly of his bio, but the bio will at least have to make reference to his ideas, even if it doesn't try to explain those ideas. --Mark Christensen |
The main reason that I would want the separate these things is the dynamic nature of Wikipedia, i.e., if somebody drops by and starts to add more details in the biography will this not bury the discussion of his ideas? Is the article not going to be too long for somebody who wants just a quick overview of his ideas? Or what if the discussion of his ideas is extended? Will that not interrupt the story line of his life too much?
Perhaps a good solution would be to give a (mixed) summary of his ideas and life on the main page, (not much longer than, say, a screen or two) and discuss them separately on subpages more extensively. You could have subpages on "Life", "Tractatus", "Philosophical investigations" et cetera or on subject as is done in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. As soon as these get big enough they could be moved to their own entry.
Anyway, I have to get back to work now and will be very busy the next two weeks, so it's all up to you now. I'm looking forward to your additions. -- Jan Hidders
Definitely, discussion of W's life should be separated from that of his philosophy.
I made a few edits to the article. Note, the British Empiricists were all dead long before Wittgenstein; empiricism in the 20th century is generally referred to as just "empiricism" or (as propounded by the Vienna Circle) "logical empiricism." --LMS
Certianly we should have pages for his major works, which explain his ideas, and seprate section of the main page which expresses a short summary of his ideas independantly of his bio, but the bio will at least have to make reference to his ideas, even if it doesn't try to explain those ideas. --Mark Christensen