Publication details
Unveiling the Complexity : Three Levels of Ethics in Wittgenstein’s Tractatus
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | 100 Years of ›Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus‹ – 70 Years after Wittgenstein’s Death |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | google books |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111453040-015 |
| Keywords | Ludwig Wittgenstein; Tractatus; ethics; will; limits of the world; happiness; subject |
| Description | This paper offers a reading of the early Wittgenstein’s ethics as closely connected to his method and logico-philosophical insights. I distinguish three levels of Tractarian ethics. The most basic level is ethics in the traditional sense of “thou shalt.” At a higher level, there is an imperative to achieve harmony between the willing subject and the limits of the world; it is at this level that Wittgenstein discusses will and happiness. In contrast to Stoic interpretations of Tractarian ethics, I believe the crux is choosing an appropriate or harmonious set of names and elementary propositions. The highest level is the imperative to adopt the right philosophical outlook, that is, the logico-philosophical insights presented in the Tractatus. Specifically, that means discarding the ladder after climbing it in order to “see the world rightly.” |