I thoroughly enjoyed reading this brief biographical sketch of Wittgenstein’s life and succint summary of his philosophy and it only took me about 60 minutes to finish it. Next up: On Wittgenstein by Jaakko HIntikka.

Just finished another book on Wittgenstein. This one, on human nature, covered his conception of philosophy; mind, body and behavior; private ownership of experience; epistemic privacy; descriptions and expressions; knowledge of others; and whether machines can think. Next up: Wittgenstein in 90 Minutes by Paul Strathern, then On Wittgenstein by Jaakko Hintikka.

Here’s what sold me on this book (from the back cover of the book itself):

One of the great Catholic philosophers of our day reflects on the way language has been abused so that, instead of being a means of coummunicating the truth and entering more deeply into it, and of the acquisition of wisdom, it is being used to control people and manipulate them to achieve practical ends.

Reality becomes intelligible through words. Man speaks so that through naming things, what is real may become intelligible. This mediating character of language, however, is being increasingly corrupted. Tyranny, propaganda, mass-media destroy and distort words. They offer us apparent realities whose fictive character threatens to become opaque. Josef Pieper shows with energetic zeal, but also with ascetical restraint, the path out of this dangerous situation. We are constrained to see things again as they are and from the truth thus grasped to live and to work.

When it comes to marketing, beware of sophistry! As marketing guru Seth Godin so adeptly put it, “All Marketers are Liars”. Caveat emptor!

By the way, this essay in book form is a very short read (only 54 pages). I read it in its entirety in a couple of hours during the course of a flight last night.

This is my first book on Wittgenstein. I’ll be reading a couple more, plus Wittgenstein’s own writings. I find him interesting.

The Meaning of Everything is another tale of lexicography and human collaboration and achievement by Simon Winchester, the author of The Professor and the Madman. This time he tells the complete story of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary, including biographical sketches of all the major players. It was delightful!

As expected, a ‘Very Short Introduction’ to linguistics. My next ‘Very Short Introduction’ read: Wittgenstein, then Russell, Philosophy, Classics, Judaism and Islam.

As a linguist, I loved this biography of the English langauge.

I almost forgot to mention this video. I watched it some time ago with my wife at the recommendation of Associate Professor of Geography and Dept. Chair, Geo-Sciences, Buck Buchannan of Cy-Fair College. We both really enjoyed it. It is based on the Pullitzer Prize winning New York Times bestseller by Jared Diamond. After watching the video, I acquired the book and am looking forward to reading it. I share Professor Diamond’s enthusiasm for human geography.

I finished reading another C.S. Lewis book. This one was assigned reading for The Think Factory. Next up: The Screwtape Letters and Surprised by Joy.

As indicated in the subtitle, The Professor and the Madman is “a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English Dictionary.” It is one of the best biographies I have ever read. It is a human story of forviveness, redemption, collaborative effort and colossal achievement.