Koval, Oxana A., Kriukova, Ekaterina B. (2022) “Ludwig Wittgenstein as a Fictional Character. Part II”, Voprosy filosofii, Vol. 2 (2022), pp. 169–179.

Abstract

The second article continues to acquaint with the image of Wittgenstein, as he appears on the pages of fiction. The key thesis of the study, according to which the imaginary strategy of world literature provides new meaning to the strictly rational understanding of Wittgenstein’s works and personality, is confirmed on the basis of the works of various authors. Perspectives in which writers discover Wittgenstein’s innovative ideas turn out to be interesting and very unusual. In particular, Percival Everett plays in the ironic style on the content and structure of “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus” and extends its linguistic concept directly to the field of literature itself. Enrique Vila-Matas, who studies the phenomenon of silence in literature, reveals an ethical paradox between Wittgenstein’s theory and practice. In the novel of Ciaran Carson and in the texts of Thomas Bernhard, the philosopher’s behavior and eccentric features of his character, which contributed to the formation of the legendary cult around his person, receive an original ex- planation. Thus, fiction creates a many-sided portrait of a philosopher, in which his thought is a continuation of his outstanding personality.