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Privileged Yet Tragic Upbringing
- Ludwig Wittgenstein grew up in an immensely wealthy, culturally central Viennese family surrounded by artists and thinkers.
- Three of his brothers committed suicide and he repeatedly contemplated suicide himself, marking a tragic family background.
Russell's Instant Recognition
- Wittgenstein arrived at Cambridge in 1911 and asked Russell whether he was a complete idiot; Russell tested him and quickly recognized genius.
- Russell then handed the philosophical torch to Wittgenstein after reading his work and advising him against aeronautical engineering.
Philosophy As Quest For Clarity
- Wittgenstein treated philosophy as a pursuit of clarity, not victory in argument, driven by an aching need to know rather than to win.
- Russell saw this as theoretical passion: Wittgenstein 'doesn't want to prove this or that, but to find out how things are.'