Ludwig Wittgenstein
Great Lives
BBC
4.2 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 13 December 2011
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ludwig Wittgenstein, the fascinating and misunderstood genius who changed the course of philosophy, is chosen by writer Raymond Tallis. With biographer Ray Monk, he brings alive this most enigmatic of men and his singular life. And to make sure that they don't get lost in Wittgensteinian thought, presenter Matthew Parris brings along a whistle to blow whenever he feels in danger..
Producer Beth O'Dea.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | Thank you for downloading this great lives podcast from BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:41.0 | For more information and details of other podcasts just visit BBC.co. UK slash |
| 0:46.2 | Radio 4. |
| 0:48.4 | Our great life today is that of one of the most intriguing and misunderstood or |
| 0:54.0 | understood figures of the 20th century who brought despair |
| 0:58.6 | into the young life of a philosophy undergraduate at Cambridge, |
| 1:02.3 | me. In 1951, Joan Bevan's husband told |
| 1:07.2 | her he was bringing someone home to meet her, someone rather unusual. |
| 1:11.2 | He warned me to be on my best behavior because the man coming was |
| 1:17.7 | different from anyone he or I had ever met. He had a thin face, grey curly hair, piercing blue eyes, and was extremely |
| 1:26.7 | handsome. And he made striking gestures with his hands when he was thinking or talking. |
| 1:32.3 | Raymond Tallis, who is when he was thinking or talking. |
| 1:33.0 | Raymond Tallis, who is she talking about and why have you chosen him? |
| 1:38.0 | She's talking about the great philosopher, |
| 1:40.0 | Lubbockenstein, probably one of the two greatest philosophers of the last century, the other |
| 1:44.9 | one being Martin Heidegger. His philosophy illuminated every aspect of his life. It wasn't |
... |
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