“Ludwig Wittgenstein” – A BBC Radio Talk by Elizabeth Anscombe in May 1953

Christian Erbacher; Anne dos Santos Reis; Julia Jung

doi:10.15845/nwr.v8i1-2.3556

Authors

Christian Erbacher University of Siegen
Anne dos Santos Reis University of Siegen
Julia Jung University of Siegen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/nwr.v8i1-2.3556

Keywords:

Anscombe G.E.M., Wittgenstein L., Philosophical Investigations, Ordinary Language Philosophy

Abstract

Presented here is the transcript of a BBC radio broadcast by Elizabeth Anscombe that was recorded in May 1953 – the month when Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations appeared in England for the first time. In her radio talk, Anscombe provides some biographical and philosophical background for reading the Philosophical Investigations. She addresses the importance of the Tractatus and of the literary qualities of Wittgenstein’s writing. Anscombe warns that it would be fruitless to adopt slogans from Wittgenstein without insight. She also calls it a misunderstanding to think that Wittgenstein had championed something like the Ordinary Language Philosophy as it was practised at the time of the recording.

Author Biography

Christian Erbacher, University of Siegen

received his diploma in psychology from the University of Regensburg (Germany) in 2006 and his PhD in philosophy from the University of Bergen (Norway) in 2010. Between 2010 and 2015 he has conducted the research project “Shaping the Domain of Knowledge by Editorial Processing: the Case of Wittgenstein’s Work”. He is continuing his work on the history of editing Wittgenstein’s writings as part of the Collaborative Research Center “Media of Cooperation” at the University of Siegen.

Julia Jung (b. 1992) studies Literature, Culture and Media at the University of Siegen. Since 2016 she is working at the Collaborative Research Center “Media of Cooperation” at the University of Siegen.

Anne dos Santos Reis (b. 1992) studies philosophy and linguistics at the University of Siegen. Since 2016 she is working at the Collaborative Research Center “Media of Cooperation” at the University of Siegen.