Why Is Wittgenstein Important?

Abstract Ludwig Wittgenstein’s later philosophy has been hugely influential but can be difficult to understand. He has a radical approach to philosophy. Most philosophers think that questions such as ‘How can I know there is an external world?’ or ‘How is my private inner world of thought and experience related to my body?’ raise genuine puzzles requiring solutions. Wittgenstein, on the other hand, takes such questions to result from linguistic confusion and a scientistic approach to philosophy. Such questions require, not answers, but conceptual elucidation. This article introduces Wittgenstein’s later philosophy.