Wittgenstein:: From 'Tractatus' to later philosophy

The paper is an attempt to shed light upon Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophical development from its early to its late periods. In the author's view Wittgenstein's philosophy can relatively sharply be divided into two periods with 1930 as a boundary line. He picks out some main events occurring around this line, which can be seen as the milestones on Wittgensteins' road from Tractatus to his new philosophy. This philosophy stands in many points in opposition to his Tractarian philosophical opinions and principles. Nevertheless, there are many points concerning his view of the role of philosophy, which these two periods have in common. This enables us to understand Wittgenstein's philosophical conversion much better-the change is more visible against an unchanging background.