Highly influential Austrian-British philosopher (1889–1951) whose greatest contributions were in the fields of logic, philosophy of mathematics, and language. Rare ALS in German in pencil, one page on a 5.25 x 3.5 postcard depicting the entrance gate of St. John’s College in England, postmarked May 23, 1929. Letter to important philosopher and physicist Moritz Schlick. In full (translated): “I am still working on my mathematics, all with very little success. How is everything going for you? Do let me sometimes hear from you, if you have nothing better to do!” In fine condition.
Schlick was a founding member of the Vienna Circle, a discussion group of philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians who held a common attitude towards philosophy, consisting of an applied logical positivism drawn from Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. What is most interesting is that 1929 represented an important period in the development of Wittgenstein's philosophy, a transition point between the early concepts of the Tractatus and the later Philosophical Investigations. Wittgenstein rededicated himself to examining the philosophy of mathematics, which he had largely abandoned over the preceding decade; more than half of his writings from 1929 through 1944 are devoted to mathematics, and in 1944 wrote that his ‘chief contribution has been in the philosophy of mathematics.’ A rare piece of correspondence by Wittgenstein referencing his work, especially relevant due to the intimate intellectual connection with Schlick and the Vienna Circle. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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