Wittgenstein: Philosophical Investigations
The Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein was perhaps the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century. His terse epigrammatic writings have bestowed both enlightenment and mental cramp in equal measure on students of philosophy since his death in Cambridge in 1951. His life was characterised by almost constant change; he was born the son of wealthy industrialists and was later variously a soldier, an inventor, a schoolteacher, a hospital porter, a professor and a hermit. He spent much of his latter years in Ireland in Dublin, Wicklow and at Rosroe in Killary Harbour. Music was another constant in his life. He was a concert standard clarinet player whose childhood home had seven grand pianos which were regularly played by Brahms and Mahler and other luminaries of the Viennese music scene. Eoin O Kelly explores the main strands of Wittgenstein’s thought and its connection with his life in Ireland. Contributors include the late Fr. Cyril Barrett SJ who edited Wittgenstein’s Lectures and Conversations on Aesthetics, Psychology, and Religious Belief a landmark publication which contributed to broadening the understanding of Wittgenstein both in academic circles and beyond. (First broadcast in July 2002)
RTÉ lyric fm, Sunday 18th February, 6pm-7pm