How to Read Wittgenstein | 
| Author: Ray Monk
Creator: Simon Critchley
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Category: Book
List Price: $11.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 96181
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
ISBN: 0393328201
Dewey Decimal Number: 192
EAN: 9780393328202
ASIN: 0393328201
Publication Date: September 26, 2005
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Product Description
Approaching the writing of major intellectuals, artists, and philosophers need no longer be daunting. How to Read is a new sort of introduction—a personal master class in reading—that brings you face to face with the work of some of the most influential and challenging writers in history. In lucid, accessible language, these books explain essential topics such as Wittgenstein's determination to insist on the integrity and the autonomy of nonscientific forms of understanding.
Intent upon letting the reader experience the pleasure and intellectual stimulation in reading these classic authors, the How to Read series provides a context and an explanation that will facilitate and enrich your understanding of texts vital to the canon.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 A clear intro to a difficult text. March 8, 2008
The insights this book gives on Wittgenstein's text is fascinating. As a lay person who reads a lot of philosophy, I've been in interested in W. for years. But getting grounded in W's ideas was difficult, as the text and explanations on the text were confusing.
But Ray Monk's book changes all that. In it, he clearly leads the reader through the main points of the Tractatus. Monk includes letters and discussions W had with Russell, Moore, Frege to give clarity to the ideas.
I'm reading Monk's book through for the 3rd time, and i learn more each time.
I find it highly ironic (infuriating, actually) that W wrote a book with one theme discussing the need for clarity in writing, and he writes a book that's confusing. I won't discuss some interpreters opinion that W created the confusion in his book as 'proof' of his ideas presented in the book.
I read "Introducing Wittgenstein" by John Heaton 4 years ago, and learned nothing. I threw it away.
Monk's text is clear, with great explanation and references.
Very Useful December 24, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The books in this series are aimed at being a explication of the work of their subjects but the format is a little unusual. Each chapter begins with a quotation from important writings of the subject, followed by an gloss of that section. This is the point of departure for general discussions of the subject. This method works well in this book because Wittgenstein wrote little and his published work consists often of rather delphic conclusions. Ray Monk is the author of the best biography of Wittgenstein and presents a very clear and apparently objective interpretation of Wittgenstein's philosophic work. For what it is attempting to do, provide a good introduction to Wittgenstein's difficult thought, this book is excellent. I recommend reading this book in conjunction with Monk's very good biography of Wittgenstein.
Great Guide to a Difficult Thinker November 27, 2006
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I am interested in philosophy but not a graduate student or academic, so my time and background are limited. This book was very useful in helping me understand a writer who is considered Important but who I have not been able to get any sort of handle on. I remember taking an undergraduate course and having the part on Wittgenstein go right over my head. This book allowed me to go back and read the texts and actually understand them ... a bit; he's still a difficult read.
 Not what I'd hoped for May 15, 2006
3 out of 14 found this review helpful
A reviewer of my book, `Concepts: A ProtoTheist Quest for Science-Minded Skeptics,' was critical of my not having cited authors "... such as Hegel, Wittgenstein and Rorty ..." and for not making "... aspect[s] central to postmodern narrative construction ... part of [my] approach." In order to understand what he's taking about, I've since read several books about Wittgenstein and postmodernism. Admittedly, based on my previous readings of scientists who dismiss postmodernism as unscientific, I had not open-mindedly explored purported postmodern authors.
Assuming the texts Monk selected are representative, I can see why Wittgenstein is so difficult to understand -- this English translation of the original German comes across as exceedingly terse and impenetrable. One of my primary interests was in understanding what is meant by `language games' so I was especially attentive to Chapter 8. Again assuming Monk's is an accurate explanation of what Wittgenstein meant by `language games', it seems trivial. It seems like something only a philosopher would appreciate (and reportedly, not all philosophers do). I read the book over a few times and gave it time to gestate but so far I'm not impressed with Wittgenstein's profundity. So I'm sorry to say that I didn't get from the book what I'd hoped for; whether that's Monk's fault, Wittgenstein's or mine, I can't say (unlike the February 23rd reviewer, I've not read Monk's `Duty of Genius').
Monk's final Chapter 11 is on Wittgenstein's later work on `imponderable evidence' and the importance of non-scientific forms of understanding characteristic of the arts. Yet in the half-century since Wittgenstein's death, science has made, and continues to make, inroads into understanding our brain/mind thus illuminating some of the `imponderables' and the powers of our unconscious mind (see my chapters 9 & 10).
Good choices clearly explained February 24, 2006
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
These are great selections and each is given a brief historical explanation with the philosophical implications. I wonder if this would seem like such a clear treatment of Wittgenstein if I had not already read Ray Monk "Duty of Genius" first? I would love to hear from someone in that regard. I am considering this as a possible text for class, perhaps to replace the Wittgenstein Reader I am now using.
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