John Hayes (ed.), The Selected Writings of Maurice O’ Connor Drury on Wittgenstein, Philosophy, Religion and Psychiatry (London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017). xxiii +446, price £130.00 hb (original) (raw)

2018, Philosophical Investigations

, student and close friend of Ludwig Wittgenstein's, will be familiar to scholars and students of the philosopher. His 'Recollections of Wittgenstein' (in this book), consisting of a BBC symposium, 'Conversations with Wittgenstein' (Cons.) and 'Notes on Conversations with Wittgenstein' (Notes), all of which have appeared in print before, have been important for appreciating how Wittgenstein's works should be approached and understood. They have been useful in enabling readers to grasp the aim of Wittgenstein's writings, while subsequently providing much-quoted, first-hand insights into his complex character and his conception of philosophy. John King, a fellow student of Drury's, who also attended Wittgenstein's lectures, writing to Drury's wife Eileen, says: '.. .no one knew the man better or understood what he was getting at (not just his philosophy) than Con'. Ray Monk, in the preface to this book, states how the two articles by Drury (Cons. and Notes) resonated so strongly with him that, when writing his biography, he tried to do justice to the Wittgenstein that Drury spoke about, to the person who had failed to appear in the mainstream philosophical treatment of his work. In the biography, Monk comments on Drury's book, The Danger of Words, that, '.. .though much neglected, it is perhaps, in its tone and concerns, the most truly Wittgensteinian work published by any of Wittgenstein's students' (Monk, p264). Besides, Drury is important as an example of the positive influence of Wittgenstein, the effect of his personality and teaching on his students. These Selected Writings.. ., excellently edited by John Hayes, provide us with a comprehensive picture of Drury's corpus, bringing together all the scattered pieces already in print as well as a considerable amount of unpublished material. Copiously annotated and scrupulously edited, it is divided thematically into six parts. Part I, 'Drury and Wittgenstein: