In the Beginning Was the Redeeming Word
Tolstoy’s Spiritual Influence on the Genesis of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20249808 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael Beaney (0000-0002-5458-6591, University of Aberdeen, corresponding author), Frank Burr (University of Aberdeen) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 730 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-18 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel17060730 |
| OpenAlex | W7165176261 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
This article discusses the influence of Leo Tolstoy on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s early philosophy. In particular, we elucidate the influence that Wittgenstein’s reading of Tolstoy’s Gospel in Brief had on the genesis of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, in inspiration, structure, and content. Central to our account is the idea of ‘the redeeming word (das erlösende Wort)’, which Wittgenstein sought in ‘liberating’ us from the problems of philosophy, liberation that had a deep spiritual and ethical purpose
Gospel · Interpretation (philosophy) · Reading (process) · Word (group theory) · Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and Hegel · Samuel Beckett and Modernism · Wittgensteinian philosophy and applications
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |