Wittgenstein in Polish Galicia

A deeply researched account of Wittgenstein’s wartime experiences and reading during 1914 and 1917 that reveals numerous previously unknown yet vital details about his work on the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.

Delving into Wittgenstein's recently-published private diaries from 1914 to 1917, Urszula Idziak-Smoczynska offers unique insight into a pivotal period in Wittgenstein's life, when he completed his ground-breaking work in logic and underwent a profound spiritual transformation that left an indelible mark on his future and his philosophical evolution.

She is able to reconstruct the young Wittgenstein's state of mind as he grappled with the challenges imposed by war. Tracing the roots of Wittgenstein's spiritual sensibilities to works like William James' "The Varieties of Religious Experience" and Saint Augustine's "Confessions", Idziak-Smoczynska explores relationships with key figures of Austrian modernity, including L. von Ficker and Adolf Loos.

As Wittgenstein actively participated in significant offensives on the Eastern Front, including Dankl's offensive, the Brusilov offensive, and the Kerensky offensive of the Revolutionary Russia, we enter into a compelling dialogue with the influential literary and philosophical works that shaped Wittgenstein's thinking in such close proximity to the battlefield: the Bible, novels by Keller, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and the work of Schopenhauer.

This important exploration of Wittgenstein’s formative years is essential reading which sheds light on Wittgenstein's philosophical journey and highlights his role in a broader context – as one of the major intellectuals and artists who struggled in the first World War and went on to shape the postwar scientific and artistic landscape.