2009

Ludwig Wittgenstein Autograph Letter Signed

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:7,500.00 - 8,500.00 USD
Ludwig Wittgenstein Autograph Letter Signed

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Auction Date:2016 Sep 26 @ 13:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Important ALS in German, two pages on both sides of a single leaf, 7 x 9, postmarked June 12, 1932 at the top. In fine condition, with intersecting folds. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope addressed in his own hand. A significant letter to philosopher of science Moritz Schlick, relating to Wittgenstein’s plagiarism controversy with Rudolf Carnap. This intriguing letter connects three giants of 20th–century philosophy—Wittgenstein, Carnap, and Schlick. Schlick was the central figure of the Vienna Circle, a group of scientific philosophers who deemed Wittgenstein’s Tractatus the key text of modern philosophy. Wittgenstein accused Carnap, a major philosopher and himself a leading member of the Vienna Circle, of plagiarizing his ideas when Carnap’s 1932 article ’Physical Language as the Universal Language of Science’ essentially paraphrased (or ‘translated’) the Tractatus without acknowledging Wittgenstein as the original source of Carnap’s statements. In the immediate context of this letter, Carnap seems to have sent unsolicited copies of his writings to Wittgenstein, and Wittgenstein is conscious that in failing to respond to Carnap about their content, he will perhaps be viewed as seeming to condone Carnap’s plagiarism through his silence and non-action. A very desirable example of Wittgenstein’s autograph considering its multiple connections to Wittgenstein’s work and the philosophical community at large.

In full (translated): “I’m terribly sorry that you’re not well. In 8 to 24 days I hope to find you (if it [the visit] is still welcome) in a more bearable condition. Concerning Carnap: I made a mistake in that I did not return the copies of his writings, that he merely had sent, thus—if only indirectly!—seeming to condone his behavior. In the future I will handle it differently.—My work has made great progress in recent months. This past week, however, I felt rather overtaxed. Hopefully that will soon pass. I’m very excited to discuss my work with you. I am very much looking forward to our next meeting.” In fine condition, with intersecting folds.