Paul Wittgenstein (philosopher)

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Paul Karl Heinrich Justus Wittgenstein (born September 13, 1907 in Mitterndorf , Traunkirchen , † November 13, 1979 in Linz ) was an Austrian eccentric. As the title person of the story Wittgenstein's Nephew - A Friendship of Thomas Bernhard , he has entered the literature.

Life

Paul Wittgenstein was a grandson of the industrialist Paul Wittgenstein (1842-1928) and his wife Justine Hochstetter (1858-1918). His father Paul Karl ("Carletto") Wittgenstein (1880–1948) was a cousin of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein . Paul Wittgenstein the Elder J. graduated from the Theresianum boarding school in Vienna and then studied mathematics. From a young age a manic-depressive illness was noticeable, which denied him a potential standard career. He was known in Vienna, among other things, for his enthusiasm for opera, which was perceived as eccentric in its extent.

Impact history

The unusual appearance and the rhetorical talent of the "genius without results" (according to the writer Camillo Schaefer ) made Paul Wittgenstein a fascination for others. After Wittgenstein's death, in 1980 the Freibord publishing house published a homage to Paul Wittgenstein edited by Camillo Schaefer , and Schaefer later processed his memories in Wittgenstein's megalomania (1986).

A contribution by the Austrian radio station Ö1 on September 26, 2010 was dedicated to him and contained memories from friends (like Thaddäus Podgorski ) as well as longer passages in the original tone of the eccentric.

The best-known book dedicated to Paul Wittgenstein is the story Wittgenstein's nephew by Thomas Bernhard , published in 1982 , in which the author deals with the last twelve years of Paul Wittgenstein's life and reflects on mental and physical illnesses in a literary, not biographical, scientific manner.

Wittgenstein died in 1979 in the Wagner-Jauregg Hospital . His grave is in the Vienna Central Cemetery (group 82A, row 37, number 62).

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Baptismal register Protestant parish Gmunden, tom. I, fol. 150 ( facsimile ). See also Manfred Mittermayer: Thomas Bernhard. A biography . Residence, Salzburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-7017-4508-1 .
personal data
SURNAME Wittgenstein, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wittgenstein, Paul Karl Heinrich Justus (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian eccentric
DATE OF BIRTH September 13, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Mitterndorf , Traunkirchen
DATE OF DEATH November 13, 1979
Place of death Linz