Georg Henrik von Wright (; 14 June 1916 – 16 June 2003) was a Finnish

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Biography

G. H. von Wright was born in Helsinki on 14 June 1916 to Tor von Wright and his wife Ragni Elisabeth Alfthan. On the retirement of

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considere ...

as professor at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1948, von Wright succeeded him. He published in

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Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, belonging to the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland. Von Wright was of both Finnish and 17th-century Scottish ancestry, and the family was raised to

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

in 1772.

Work

Von Wright's writings come under two broad categories. The first is

analytic philosophy Analytic philosophy is a branch and tradition of philosophy using analysis, popular in the Western world and particularly the Anglosphere, which began around the turn of the 20th century in the contemporary era in the United Kingdom, United Sta ...

and

philosophical logic Understood in a narrow sense, philosophical logic is the area of logic that studies the application of logical methods to philosophical problems, often in the form of extended logical systems like modal logic. Some theorists conceive philosophical ...

in the Anglo-American vein. His 1951 texts ''An Essay in Modal Logic'' and "Deontic Logic" were landmarks in the postwar rise of formal modal logic and its

deontic In moral philosophy, deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek language, Greek: + ) is the normative ethics, normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a s ...

version. He was an authority on Wittgenstein, editing his later works. He was the leading figure in the Finnish philosophy of his time, specializing in philosophical logic,

philosophical analysis Philosophical analysis is any of various techniques, typically used by philosophers in the analytic tradition, in order to "break down" (i.e. analyze) philosophical issues. Arguably the most prominent of these techniques is the analysis of concept ...

philosophy of action Action theory (or theory of action) is an area in philosophy concerned with theories about the processes causing willful human bodily movements of a more or less complex kind. This area of thought involves epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, j ...

philosophy of language In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, ...

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

, and the close study of

Charles Sanders Peirce Charles Sanders Peirce ( ; September 10, 1839 – April 19, 1914) was an American philosopher, logician, mathematician and scientist who is sometimes known as "the father of pragmatism". Educated as a chemist and employed as a scientist for t ...

. The other vein in von Wright's writings is

moralist Moralism is any philosophy with the central focus of applying moral judgements. The term is commonly used as a pejorative to mean "being overly concerned with making moral judgments or being illiberal in the judgments one makes". Moralism has st ...

and pessimist. During the last twenty years of his life, under the influence of

Oswald Spengler Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (; 29 May 1880 – 8 May 1936) was a German historian and philosopher of history whose interests included mathematics, science, and art, as well as their relation to his organic theory of history. He is best known ...

Jürgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas (, ; ; born 18 June 1929) is a German social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere. Associated with the Frankfurt School, Habermas's wor ...

and the

Frankfurt School The Frankfurt School (german: Frankfurter Schule) is a school of social theory and critical philosophy associated with the Institute for Social Research, at Goethe University Frankfurt in 1929. Founded in the Weimar Republic (1918–1933), dur ...

's reflections about modern

rationality Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an abil ...

, he wrote prolifically. His best known article from this period is entitled "The Myth of Progress" (1993), and it questions whether our apparent material and technological progress can really be considered "

progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension wi ...

" (see

Myth of Progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension wi ...

Awards

In the last year of his life, he was awarded several

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

s, including one by the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

. He also was awarded the

Swedish Academy Finland Prize The Finland Prize ( sv, Finlandspriset) is a literary award presented annually by the Swedish Academy since 1966. It is awarded to somebody that has done important activities for the Swedish language, Swedish-speaking culture in Finland. The amount ...

in 1968.

Publications

*'' The Logical Problem of Induction'', PhD thesis, 31 May 1941 *''Den logiska empirismen'' (Logical Empirism), in Swedish, 1945 *''Über Wahrscheinlichkeit'' (On Chance), in German, 1945 *''An Essay in Modal Logic'', (Studies in Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics: Volume V),

L.E.J. Brouwer Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer (; ; 27 February 1881 – 2 December 1966), usually cited as L. E. J. Brouwer but known to his friends as Bertus, was a Dutch mathematician and philosopher, who worked in topology, set theory, measure theory and compl ...

E.W. Beth Evert Willem Beth (7 July 1908 – 12 April 1964) was a Dutch philosopher and logician, whose work principally concerned the foundations of mathematics. He was a member of the Significs Group. Biography Beth was born in Almelo, a small tow ...

, and A. Heyting (eds.), Amsterdam: North-Holland,1951 *'' A Treatise on Induction and Probability'', 1951
"Deontic Logic"
''Mind'', 60: 1–15, 1951 *''Tanke och förkunnelse'' (Thought and Preaching), in Swedish, 1955 *'' Logical Studies'', 1957 *''Logik, filosofi och språk'' (Logic, philosophy and language), in Swedish, 1957 *''The Varieties of Goodness'', 1963. (1958–60

Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford. Their purpose is to "promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term – in o ...

in the

University of St. Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He considered this his best and most personal work.) *'' Norm and Action'', 1963 (1958–60 Gifford Lectures, St. Andrews.) *'' The Logic of Preference'', 1963 *''Essay om naturen, människan och den vetenskaplig-tekniska revolutionen'' (Essay on Nature, Man and the Scientific-Technological Revolution), in Swedish, 1963 *'' An Essay in Deontic Logic'', 1968 *''Time, Change and Contradiction'', (The Twenty-Second

Arthur Stanley Eddington Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (28 December 1882 – 22 November 1944) was an English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. He was also a philosopher of science and a populariser of science. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the lumin ...

Memorial Lecture Delivered at Cambridge University 1 November 1968) Cambridge University Press. 1969 *''Tieteen filosofian kaksi perinnettä'' (The Two Traditions of the Philosophy of Science), in Finnish, 1970 *'' Explanation and Understanding'', 1971 *''Causality and Determinism'', 1974 *''Handlung, Norm und Intention'' (Action, Norm and Intention), in German, 1977 *''Humanismen som livshållning'' (Humanism as an approach to Life), in Swedish, 1978 *''Freedom and Determination'', 1980 *''

Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrians, Austrian-British people, British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy o ...

'', 1982 *''Philosophical Papers I–III'', 1983–1984 **v. I ''

Practical Reason In philosophy, practical reason is the use of reason to decide how to act. It contrasts with theoretical reason, often called speculative reason, the use of reason to decide what to follow. For example, agents use practical reason to decide whethe ...

'', v. II ''

Philosophical Logic Understood in a narrow sense, philosophical logic is the area of logic that studies the application of logical methods to philosophical problems, often in the form of extended logical systems like modal logic. Some theorists conceive philosophical ...

'', v. III '' Truth, Knowledge, and Modality'' *
Of Human Freedom
'' 1985. (1984

Tanner Lectures The Tanner Lectures on Human Values is a multi-university lecture series in the humanities, founded in 1978, at Clare Hall, Cambridge University, by the American scholar Obert Clark Tanner. In founding the lecture, he defined their purpose as fol ...

at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

) *''Filosofisia tutkielmia'' (Philosophical Dissertations), in Finnish, 1985 *''Vetenskapen och förnuftet'' (Science and Reason), in Swedish, 1986 *''Minervan Pöllö'' (The Owl of Minerva), in Finnish, 1991 *''Myten om framsteget'' (The Myth of Progress), in Swedish, 1993 *''The Tree of Knowledge and Other Essays,'' Leiden, Brill''.'' , 1993 *''Att förstå sin samtid'' (To Understand one's own Time), in Swedish, 1994 *''Six Essays in Philosophical Logic''. Acta Philosphica Fennica, Vol. 60, 1996 *''Viimeisistä ajoista: Ajatusleikki'' (On the End Times: A Thought Experiment.), in Finnish, 1997 *''Logiikka ja humanismi'' (''Logic and Humanism''), in Finnish, 1998 *''In the Shadow of Descartes: Essays in the Philosophy of Mind'', Dordrech, Kluwer, 1998 *''Mitt liv som jag minns det'' (My Life as I Remember it), in Swedish, 2001 Von Wright edited posthumous publications by

, which were published by

Blackwell Blackwell may refer to: Places ;Canada * Blackwell, Ontario ;United Kingdom * Blackwell, County Durham, England * Blackwell, Carlisle, Cumbria, England * Blackwell (historic house), South Lakeland, Cumbria, England * Blackwell, Bolsover, Alfre ...

(unless otherwise stated): * 1961. ''Notebooks 1914-1916''. * 1967. ''Zettel'' (Translated into English as ''Culture and Value''). * 1969. ''On Certainty''. * 1971. ''ProtoTractatus—An Early Version of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus''.

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in th ...

. * 1973. ''Letters to C. K. Ogden with Comments on the English Translation of the

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus The ''Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'' (widely abbreviated and cited as TLP) is a book-length philosophical work by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein which deals with the relationship between language and reality and aims to define the ...

''. * 1974. ''Letters to Russell, Keynes and Moore''. * 1978 (1956). ''Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics''. * 1980. ''Remarks on the Philosophy of Psychology'', Vols 1–2. * 1980. ''Culture and Value'' (English translation of ''Zettel''). * 1982. ''Last Writings on the Philosophy of Psychology'', Vols. 1–2, 1992. Von Wright also edited extracts from the diary of

David Pinsent David Hume Pinsent (; 24 May 1891 – 8 May 1918) was a collaborator of the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein's ''Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'' (1922) is dedicated to Pinsent's memory. Early life Pinsent, a descendant of ...

, also published by Wiley-Blackwell: * 1990. '' A Portrait of Wittgenstein as a Young Man: From the Diary of David Hume Pinsent 1912–1914''. . *For more complete publication details see "Bibliography of the Writings of Georg Henrik von Wright" (in Schilpp, 1989) and "The Georg Henrik von Wright-Bibliography" (2005).

Notes

References

Sources

Von Wright Obituary.
''The Guardian'', 4 July 2003.
G. H. von Wright.
''Encyclopædia Britannica.'' (Archived by

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

External links

obituary by

Brian McGuinness Brian McGuinness (22 October 1927 – 23 December 2019) was a Wittgenstein scholar best known for his translation, with David Pears, of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, ''Tractatus-Logico-Philosophicus''. He was christened with the forenames ...

in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

,'' 24 June 2003 (Archived by

)
Georg Henrik Wright
in the National Biography of Finland.
Georg Henrik von Wright in ''375 humanists''.
Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki, 13 May 2015. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Georg Henrik 1916 births 2003 deaths 20th-century essayists 20th-century Finnish philosophers 21st-century essayists 21st-century Finnish philosophers 20th-century Finnish nobility 21st-century Finnish nobility Bertrand Russell Professors of Philosophy Academic staff of the University of Helsinki Action theorists Analytic philosophers Epistemologists Fellows of the British Academy Finnish essayists Finnish humanists Finnish people of Scottish descent Finnish writers in Swedish Logicians Modal logicians People from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Philosophers of culture Philosophers of language Philosophers of logic Philosophers of science Philosophy writers Selma Lagerlöf Prize winners University of Helsinki alumni Virtue ethicists Writers from Helsinki Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences