Wittgenstein

LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN (1889 - 1951)

One of the most influential and charismatic of 20th century thinkers, Wittgenstein was Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge between 1939 and 1947. His famous Tractatus (1922) the only book he published in his lifetime, had set limits on what language could legitimately do, and stated that a good deal of conventional discourse was literally meaningless. Wittgenstein had been in Newcastle in 1932, where his friend Maurice Drury was working with a cooperative run by unemployed shipyard workers. Wittgenstein visited Jarrow at this time and had some pertinent comments to make.

During World War II Wittgenstein worked as a dispensary porter at Guy's Hospital in London, before coming to Newcastle to work at the Royal Victoria Infirmary. A commemorative plaque was placed there in 1997. Wittgenstein worked at the RVI for almost a year from April 1943 until February 1944, living for some months at Mrs Moffat's house, 28 Brandling Park, on the other side of the Great North Road (plaque erected 8 November 2002). Dr Reeve considered that the months at Brandling Park were among the happiest of Wittgenstein's life. He was with a group under Dr Grant studying wounds, and proof of his serious application to medical research at the RVI was an instrument for measuring the amplitude of the pulse, valuable for a group which was studying blood-loss through 'wound shock'. Wittgenstein worked on Saturdays and sometimes on Sundays too. Indeed, his interest in both the practical and theoretical aspects of the medical work became rather too intense for the other members of the group, and whenever the group had a special day off and a relaxing walk along the Roman Wall, Wittgenstein was rarely invited - because 'he talked shop all the time'. When Maurice Drury came to see him in 1943, Wittgenstein visited Durham Cathedral with him.

According to Ray Monk's fine biography, Wittgenstein was uncommunicative at this time and went to 'the flicks' several times a week (as he did in Cambridge) though supposedly he could never remember anything he saw. No doubt it was his way of turning his mind away from the pressures of work. He was extremely fond of westerns and musicals. He also liked the North East, and to illustrate the friendly nature of the Geordies he spoke of the time when he asked the bus conductor to put him off at a certain cinema. He was told that the film was not worth seeing: 'Whey man that's an arful pitcha, you want to see Errol Flynn at the...'. There ensued an argument on the bus about which film he should see and why. He was not entirely divorced from the life of the mind of course, and when a visiting lecturer gave a paper at the university, the ensuing conversation mostly involved Wittgenstein.

Grant and Reeve left for Italy in 1943 to gain further experience in war wounds, and Wittgenstein's tenure in Newcastle depended on Grant's successor, Dr Bywaters. The latter observed:

'He was reserved and rather withdrawn: when, in conversation at coffee or teatime, philosophical subjects came up, he refused to be drawn. I was disappointed in this, but pleased with his meticulous and conscientious approach to the frozen sections of lung and other organs he prepared for me. I remember him as an enigmatic, non-communicating, perhaps rather depressed person who preferred the deckchair in his room to any social encounters.'

Some months after Wittgenstein's arrival, the group had to leave Brandling Park because of Mrs Moffat's ill-health, though friction over the marmalade and Wittgenstein's gas-meter consumption may have contributed. They each found separate digs, but according to Miss Andrews: 'Prof. W. had difficulty in finding anywhere to live because he had a foreign accent, looked a bit shabby and said he was a professor; most landladies were quite naturally suspicious.' It appears that Wittgenstein moved to Conyers House in Western Avenue, Benwell. This suited him less than Jesmond, it seems as he never invited Dr Reeve inside, after walking back from the RVI. Going to the cinema was now usually a solitary affair. Wittgenstein left Newcastle on 16 February 1944 to stay near his friend Rush Rhees in Swansea. His lectures at Cambridge resumed in October 1944.

Myers Literary Guide:	The North-East
LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN (1889 - 1951) One of the most influential and charismatic of 20th century thinkers, Wittgenstein was Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge between 1939 and 1947. His famous Tractatus (1922) the only book he published in his lifetime, had set limits on what language could legitimately do, and stated that a good deal of conventional discourse was literally meaningless. Wittgenstein had been in Newcastle in 1932, where his friend Maurice Drury was working with a cooperative run by unemployed shipyard workers. Wittgenstein visited Jarrow at this time and had some pertinent comments to make. During World War II Wittgenstein worked as a dispensary porter at Guy's Hospital in London, before coming to Newcastle to work at the Royal Victoria Infirmary. A commemorative plaque was placed there in 1997. Wittgenstein worked at the RVI for almost a year from April 1943 until February 1944, living for some months at Mrs Moffat's house, 28 Brandling Park, on the other side of the Great North Road (plaque erected 8 November 2002). Dr Reeve considered that the months at Brandling Park were among the happiest of Wittgenstein's life. He was with a group under Dr Grant studying wounds, and proof of his serious application to medical research at the RVI was an instrument for measuring the amplitude of the pulse, valuable for a group which was studying blood-loss through 'wound shock'. Wittgenstein worked on Saturdays and sometimes on Sundays too. Indeed, his interest in both the practical and theoretical aspects of the medical work became rather too intense for the other members of the group, and whenever the group had a special day off and a relaxing walk along the Roman Wall, Wittgenstein was rarely invited - because 'he talked shop all the time'. When Maurice Drury came to see him in 1943, Wittgenstein visited Durham Cathedral with him. According to Ray Monk's fine biography, Wittgenstein was uncommunicative at this time and went to 'the flicks' several times a week (as he did in Cambridge) though supposedly he could never remember anything he saw. No doubt it was his way of turning his mind away from the pressures of work. He was extremely fond of westerns and musicals. He also liked the North East, and to illustrate the friendly nature of the Geordies he spoke of the time when he asked the bus conductor to put him off at a certain cinema. He was told that the film was not worth seeing: 'Whey man that's an arful pitcha, you want to see Errol Flynn at the...'. There ensued an argument on the bus about which film he should see and why. He was not entirely divorced from the life of the mind of course, and when a visiting lecturer gave a paper at the university, the ensuing conversation mostly involved Wittgenstein. Grant and Reeve left for Italy in 1943 to gain further experience in war wounds, and Wittgenstein's tenure in Newcastle depended on Grant's successor, Dr Bywaters. The latter observed: 'He was reserved and rather withdrawn: when, in conversation at coffee or teatime, philosophical subjects came up, he refused to be drawn. I was disappointed in this, but pleased with his meticulous and conscientious approach to the frozen sections of lung and other organs he prepared for me. I remember him as an enigmatic, non-communicating, perhaps rather depressed person who preferred the deckchair in his room to any social encounters.' Some months after Wittgenstein's arrival, the group had to leave Brandling Park because of Mrs Moffat's ill-health, though friction over the marmalade and Wittgenstein's gas-meter consumption may have contributed. They each found separate digs, but according to Miss Andrews: 'Prof. W. had difficulty in finding anywhere to live because he had a foreign accent, looked a bit shabby and said he was a professor; most landladies were quite naturally suspicious.' It appears that Wittgenstein moved to Conyers House in Western Avenue, Benwell. This suited him less than Jesmond, it seems as he never invited Dr Reeve inside, after walking back from the RVI. Going to the cinema was now usually a solitary affair. Wittgenstein left Newcastle on 16 February 1944 to stay near his friend Rush Rhees in Swansea. His lectures at Cambridge resumed in October 1944.
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