Wittgenstein and Modernism: an encounter of the third kind

Abstract

In earlier works, the author has twice discussed Wittgenstein’s work in relation to the modernist Geist that prevailed during his time. In the first, it was argued that the Tractatus was a modernist cornerstone, and then the idea was advanced that Wittgenstein’s later thought exemplified an essential modernist trait. Without contradicting these claims, a criticism is now offered on the aestheticism crucial to modernism and also to Wittgenstein’s thought.