Ernest Gellner, "Language and Solitude: Wittgenstein, Malinowski and the Habsburg Dilemma"
English | ISBN: 0521639972 | | 230 pages | PDF | 895 KB
Ernest Gellner (1925-1995) has been described as "one of the last great central European polymath intellectuals." In this, his last book, he throws new light on two key figures of the twentieth century: the philosopher Wittgenstein, and Malinowski, founder of modern British social anthropology. Gellner shows how the thought of both men grew from a common background of assumptions about human nature, society, and language. He ties together themes that preoccupied him, epitomizing his belief that philosophy-far from "leaving everything as it is"-is about important historical, social and personal issues.