Wittgenstein's dictionary for children: a rare and intriguing addition
to the philosopher's corpus, in English for the first time
"I had never thought the dictionaries would be so frightfully expensive.
I think, if I live long enough, I will produce a small dictionary for
elementary schools. It appears to me to be an urgent need." -Ludwig
Wittgenstein
In 1925, Ludwig Wittgenstein, arguably one of the most influential
philosophers of the 20th century, wrote a dictionary for elementary
school children. His Wörterbuch für Volksschulen (Dictionary for
Elementary Schools) was designed to meet what he considered an urgent
need: to help his students learn to spell. Wittgenstein began teaching
kids in rural Austria in 1920 after abandoning his life and work at
Cambridge University. During this time there were only two dictionaries
available. But one was too expensive for his students, and the other was
too small and badly put together. So Wittgenstein decided to write one.
Word Book is the first-ever English translation of Wörterbuch. This
publication aims to encourage and reinvigorate interest in one of the
greatest modern philosophers by introducing this gem of a work to a
wider audience. Word Book also explores how Wörterbuch portends
Wittgenstein's radical reinvention of his own philosophy and the
enduring influence his thinking holds over how art, culture and language
are understood.
Word Book is translated by writer and art historian Bettina Funcke,
with a critical introduction by scholar Désirée Weber, and accompanied
with art by Paul Chan.
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an Austrian-born British
philosopher, regarded by many as the greatest philosopher of the 20th
century. He played a decisive if controversial role in 20th-century
analytic philosophy, and his work continues to influence fields as
diverse as logic and language, perception and intention, ethics and
religion, aesthetics and culture.
