Dr. Duncan Richter, professor in the Department of English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies and holder of the Charles Luck III ’55 Institute Professorship at Virginia Military Institute, has recently authored his seventh book titled, “Wittgenstein Versus Anscombe on How to Live: Linked Philosophical Lives,” published by Bloomsbury Publishing.
The book explores the lives of two of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Elizabeth Anscombe. Anscombe was Wittgenstein’s friend and student, chosen by him to be his translator and editor, but the two had very different views on ethics, religion, killing in war, sexuality, politics, God, and the meaning of life.
Drawing on previously unpublished work by Anscombe, Richter explains where these beliefs came from, how they affected the lives of these two great philosophers, and some of the strengths and weaknesses of their divergent positions.
