- David Pinsent
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David Hume Pinsent (1891 – 8 May 1918)[1] was a friend and collaborator of the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein described him as his first and only friend,[2] and dedicated his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922) to Pinsent's memory.[3]
Contents
Background
Pinsent, a descendant of the philosopher David Hume, gained a first-class honours degree in mathematics at Cambridge University, where he was described by George Thomson, future master of Corpus Christi College as "the most brilliant man of my year, among the most brilliant I have ever met."[4] Pinsent then studied law.[1]
He met Wittgenstein, who was two years older than he, when he was an undergraduate at Cambridge in 1912.[1] He acted as Wittgenstein's subject in psychological experiments on rhythm in speech and music, and struck up a rapport based on shared interests in music and mathematics.[1] This led to holidays together, including trips to Iceland and Norway.[5]
During World War I, Pinsent was deemed unsuitable for active military service. He trained as a test pilot instead, and worked at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough, where he was killed in a flying accident in May 1918.[1] His diary (1912–1914) mentions his times and travels with Wittgenstein.
References
- ^ a b c d e Loners: The Life Path of Unusual Children, Sula Wolff, 1995, page 161 of 192 pages, Google Books link: Books-Google-161.
- ^ Goldstein, Laurence (1999). Clear and Queer Thinking. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 179. ISBN 0847695468. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EvHPNoKvmf0C&pg=PA179&dq=%22David+Pinsent%22&num=100&as_brr=3&sig=s7x5-I_YjHi8QgWqSFLPSyMq7u8.
- ^ Galison, Peter Louis; Roland, Alex (2000). Atmospheric Flight in the Twentieth Century. Springer. p. 360. ISBN 0792360370. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JrhexWahPIgC&pg=PA360&dq=%22David+Pinsent%22&num=100&as_brr=3&sig=L9fHtgOuGekoIZEXkxrAiU004fA.
- ^ Kölbel, Max (2004). Wittgenstein's Lasting Significance. Routledge. p. 150. ISBN 0415305179. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2kccxpggLeUC&pg=PT164&dq=%22David+Pinsent%22&num=100&as_brr=3&sig=WJyoQr-JrHM45c6v8oAHa_xMou8.
- ^ "Ludwig Wittgenstein: Cambridge". Cambridge Wittgenstein Archive. http://www.wittgen-cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/text/biogre3.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
Family Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein · Karl Wittgenstein · Paul Wittgenstein · Works associated with Paul WittgensteinEarly work Picture theory of language · Truth tablesLater work Language-games · Private language argument · Family resemblance · Rule following · Forms of life · Wittgenstein's philosophy of mathematicsPublications Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Some Remarks on Logical Form · Blue and Brown Books · Philosophical Remarks · Philosophical Investigations · On Certainty · Culture and Value · Remarks on Frazer's Golden Bough · Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics · Zettel · Remarks on Colour · Lectures and Conversations on Aesthetics, Psychology, and Religious BeliefMovements Analytic philosophy · Linguistic turn · Ideal language philosophy · Logical atomism · Logical positivism · Ordinary language philosophy · Wittgensteinian fideism · QuietismFriends G.E.M. Anscombe · R.B. Braithwaite · Rudolf Carnap · Paul Engelmann · John Maynard Keynes · Peter Geach · Norman Malcolm · G.E. Moore · David Pinsent · Frank P. Ramsey · Rush Rhees · Bertrand Russell · Moritz Schlick · Francis Skinner · Piero Sraffa · Vienna Circle · Friedrich Waismann · Peter Winch · G.H. von WrightBiographers Secondary sources A.J. Ayer · Gordon Baker · James F. Conant · Cora Diamond · Terry Eagleton · Peter Hacker · Saul Kripke · Anthony Kenny · Warren Goldfarb · Stanley Cavell · D.Z. Phillips · Colin McGinn · Jaakko Hintikka · Oswald Hanfling · A.C. Grayling · Rupert Read · Barry Stroud · Stephen Toulmin · Crispin WrightMiscellaneous Cambridge Apostles · Cambridge University Moral Sciences Club · Haidbauer incident · Haus WittgensteinFilm Categories:- 1918 deaths
- Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
- 1891 births
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