philosophy bites

Cheryl Misak on Frank Ramsey and Ludwig Wittgenstein

Frank Ramsey's biographer, the philosopher Cheryl Misak, discusses the relationship between Ramsey and Wittgenstein in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Ramsey was a brilliant thinker who made significant contributions to philosophy, mathematics, and economics, despite dying at the age of 26. The two thinkers had very different personal styles, and this to some extent was reflected in their philosophies. Misak suggests that Ramsey influenced Wittgenstein's move away from the Tractatus to the more pragmatic thinking of the Philosophical Investigations. 

Listen to Cheryl Misak on Frank Ramsey and Ludwig Wittgenstein

Listen to an earlier Philosophy Bites interview with DH Mellor on Frank Ramsey on Truth

You might also be interested in this essay in the New Yorker by Anthony Gottlieb on Frank Ramsey 'The Man Who Thought Too Fast'

DH Mellor made this radio programme about Frank Ramsey in 1978 'Better than the Stars' - it includes interviews with a number of people who knew him well. 

Ray Monk on Philosophy and Biography

Ray Monk discusses the relationship between philosophy and a philosopher's life in this interview with Nigel Warburton for the Philosophy Bites podcast. Can understanding the biographical context of a philosopher and the type of person that they were help us understand their philosophical writing? Is there anything that philosophers might learn from biography? Monk as an award-winning biographer of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell is well-placed to address these questions.

Listen to Ray Monk on Philosophy and Biography

Barry Smith on Wittgenstein's Conception of Philosophy

Ludwig Wittgenstein was one of the great thinkers of the 20th Century. Part of his originality lay in his view of what Philosophy was and how it ought to be done. For this episode of Philosophy Bites Barry Smith of Birkbeck College London gives a lucid account of Wittgenstein's conception of Philosophy.

Listen to Barry Smith on Wittgenstein's Conception of Philosophy

[You can also listen to an episode of BBC Radio 4's In Our Time on Wittgenstein to which Barry Smith contributed here. This programme was originally broadcast on 4th Dec. 2003.]

David Edmonds, who introduces this podcast, is co-author of the book Wittgenstein's Poker.