Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Wittgenstein and the Tractatus (Routledge Philosophy GuideBooks)

This Routledge guidebook is extremely clearly written, and offers a remarkably advanced and profound interpretation and companion for first time readers of the Tractatus. The book is perfectly accessible to undergraduates/general readers, but doesn't read anything like a superficial 'introductory survey', skimping on technical detail or interpretative issues; the most advanced undergraduates might be challenged by some the ideas introduced (although not the clarity of expression). As a previous reviewer noted, Morris makes a lot (too much?) of Kant's influence on the Tractatus, but equally his chapter on Russell and Frege is excellent, detailed and probably fully justified.Note, however, that Morris really does focus on the 'metaphysics' of the 1's and 2's, and the picture theory of the 3's and early 4's (his treatment of both are outstanding); the the nonsense claim, the 'philosophy of philosophy', the mystical, etc (5's, 6's, 7) are given much less attention. If you're less interested in Wittgenstein's metaphysics and theory of representation, you'd probably want to read this in conjunction with another guide (may I suggest Nordman's Intro. to the Tract. for a focus on 'nonsense').

This is an amazingly thorough, detailed and clear treatment of Wittgenstein's Tractatus. It takes a firm position on the Tractatus but also covers opposing viewpoints. I think Wittgenstein himself would be shocked at how much sense this book manages to make of his work. Well done, Michael Morris !

This book is a great aid to understanding the technicalities of the system of "metaphysics" of the Tractatus - the 1s, 2s, and 3s mostly. However, it is not so helpful in clarifying the more technical logical points of the 4s and 5s. Further, its focus on discussing a Kantian reading of the Tractatus and a discussion of Solipsism are misleading in how much time the book spends on them - these are not issues of great debate in Wittgenstein scholarship. The much larger debate - that surrounding Wittgenstein's "nonsense" claim - is comparatively glossed over. For good coverage of this debate look to Hacker and Diamond (opposing positions).All in all a solid book for the basics of understanding what the Tractatus is saying on the surface (a difficult task in itself) but not so great for issues of interpretation.The brief introduction to Frege and Russell is also helpful in placing the Tractatus in context.

I found this guide extremely helpful for reading the Tractatus. This guide is a helpful mix of both exegesis and exposition of Wittgenstein's claims in the Tractatus. The early chapters of this book are especially helpful in understanding Wittgensteins picture theory. While I think chapters 5 and 6 could have been better, I think that overall this book is excellent.

This Guidebook is great. Having only the most precarious of grasps on the formidable (and formidably frustrating) Tractatus, this book led me assuredly, if a bit repetitively, through the basics of Wittgenstein scholarship. A relatively strong understanding of philosophy is a must to get the most out this book as it delves fairly deep into the various realist/idealist/solipsistic interpretations of the Tractatus as well as having a lengthy and helpful chapter on Tractarian logic, which isn't always easy.While there is always more to learn from TLP, this Guidebook provided me with the basic structure and mysterious paradoxes that constitute Wittgenstein's system. For anyone interested in the Tractatus who yearns for recent scholarship and a good perspective on his loudest commentators, e.g. Hacker, Anscombe, Ramsey, Russell, etc, etc. this is a good buy. You won't be babied, but you won't be left behind either.

I highly recommend this guide....I was having difficulty understanding Wittgenstein ...this book walked me through it.

I am shocked at how unfinished this eBook is. No Table of Contents---None! No way to navigate between chapters. You just have to scroll and scroll, paragraph after paragraph, until you find the chapter you are looking for.I'm not returning it because I think some of the essays might be useful to me. However, I will not be purchasing any more of the Routledge Guidebooks if they are going to charge nearly 20 dollars but not do a single thing---nothing---to give the text some production value. I could have had my graduate assistant just scan every page of the library's copy into a PDF if I wanted something as messy as this thing.Routledge: Please at least add TOC's to future eBooks.