The Problem of the Will in Wittgenstein’s Tractatus (original) (raw)

At the beginning of the 20th century, opinions on the problem of the nature of the will appeared divided between the empiricist tradition and Schopenhauer’s philosophy. It is common knowledge that the young Wittgenstein was influenced primarily by Schopenhauer; however, it is reasonable to ask how much his early views on the nature of the will were influenced by the empiricists. In this paper we analyze Wittgenstein’s statements on the nature of the will in the Tractatus and show that they present a fragment of a theory obviously closer to Kant’s and Schopenhauer’s philosophy and evincing no significant empiricist influence.