"A work of extraordinary difficulty and importance .... one which no serious philosopher can afford to neglect." -- Bertrand Russell.
Ludwig Wittgenstein's influential Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus explores the assumption that it is philosophy's task to 'sanitize' language. Therefore, it is necessary for philosophy to develop an artificial language that avoids the pitfalls of ordinary language. This is the only philosophical work Wittgenstein published in his lifetime. Laid out in succinct well-numbered paragraph, it is an essential read for those interested in the philosophy of language or understanding the influential figure of Wittgenstein.
From the introduction: "... to have constructed a theory of logic which is not at any point obviously wrong is to have achieved a work of extraordinary difficulty and importance.This merit, in my opinion, belongs to Mr Wittgenstein's book, and makes it one which no serious philosopher can afford to neglect." -- Bertrand Russell.