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Mysticism and Architecture: Wittgenstein and the Palais Stonborough is a multi-disciplinary study of the Viennese palais that the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein helped design and build for his sister shortly after he abandoned philosophy for more... MoreMysticism and Architecture: Wittgenstein and the Palais Stonborough is a multi-disciplinary study of the Viennese palais that the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein helped design and build for his sister shortly after he abandoned philosophy for more practical activities and during the period that supposedly separates his early from his late philosophy. Weaving together discussions of a number of social, political, and cultural developments that helped to give fin-de-siecle Vienna its character -- including the late modernization of Austrian society, industry, and economy- the construction of Viennas Ringstrasse- the slow decay of the Hapsburg monarchy- and the failure of Austrian liberalism- as well as Tolstoys religiously-based ethical views- Adolf Looss critique of architectural ornament- Karl Krauss analysis of Viennas decadence- Kierkegaards and Nestroys views on the importance of indirect communication- Otto Weiningers theory of the nature and duty of genius- Camillo Sitte and Otto Wagners dispute over good urban form- Schopenhauers aesthetic theories and his Eastern philosophy of life- and Russell and Freges philosophical and logical theories -- the book presents a philosophical biography of Wittgenstein reminiscent of, but substantially different from, Janik and Toulmins Wittgensteins Vienna. This philosophical biography underpins a new interpretation of the house which argues that the house belongs to neither architectural Modernism, nor Postmodernism, but is instead caught between those two movements. This analysis of the house, in turn, grounds a new interpretation of Wittgensteins philosophical works that emphasizes their mystical nature and practical purpose. Finally, this interpretation shows the unity of these works while simultaneously suggesting an underlying flaw- namely, that they arise from two fundamentally-opposed worldviews present in Vienna during Wittgensteins youth, aesthetic modernism and critical modernism. Mysticism and Architecture: Wittgenstein and the Meanings of the Palais Stonborough by Roger Paden
