Wittgenstein's Artillery: Philosophy as Poetry

Description: "Original interpretation of Wittgenstein's life and work. Argues that W's military experience in WWI subtly influenced his conception of how philosophy should be understood and practiced"--

Review Quotes: "An original contribution to Wittgenstein scholarship that will interest both those who are curious about Wittgenstein's life as well as how it might have influenced his thinking and those who are interested only in the think-ing itself. It is clearly written, carefully researched . . . instructive, and a pleasure to read. . . It is refreshing, also, to see a novel approach to material that has been written about so much before."
--Duncan Richter, Philosophical Investigations

"As is to be expected, the marvel of Klagge's forty-some years of original scholarship in Wittgenstein Studies...takes centre stage in Wittgenstein's Artillery....Klagge offers his readers a very unusual perspective on how to tackle material that all too often seems impenetrable​....[T]here is much to admire, to debate, to generate surprise and even some discomfort: Wittgenstein's Artillery is astonishing both for its scholarship and its courage."
--MIND

"An insightful exploration . . . Klagge thoroughly analyses Wittgenstein's views on and uses of poetry and argues that this art form is central to his way of doing philosophy . . . This book will therefore be of great use to anyone interested in Wittgenstein and poetry and, to a wider extent, in Wittgenstein's way of doing philosophy."
--Nordic Wittgenstein Review

"In this superb book, Klagge (Virginia Tech) elucidates what Wittgenstein meant by comparing the composition of philosophy with the composition of poetry. A central question about Wittgenstein's work is whether his writing style is merely an idiosyncrasy of the man or a vital element of his method(s). Klagge offers readers a way of answering: it is a vital element of his method(s)....Summing Up: Essential."
--CHOICE

"Superb....Klagge's book is a tour de force and there is nothing else like it in print....a must-read for Wittgenstein scholars with an interest in poetry, and it should be of great interest to anyone who wishes to understand better the possibilities of philosophy as a form of writing."
--The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism