A Complex Philosophical Oeuvre and Its Complex User Community: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future Digitisation of Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Writings

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a user survey conducted by the Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen (WAB) concerning some of the digital research tools and resources it has developed over the past three decades. The authors’ analysis of the survey results is embedded within a broader discussion of the nature and history of the digitisation of Wittgenstein’s philosophical writings. It is argued that the special nature of both Wittgenstein’s philosophy—especially the later Wittgenstein’s conceptions of meaning, concepts, and philosophy itself—and its primary material sources (Wittgenstein’s “Nachlass”) inherently call for a variety of advanced digital tools and resources; for instance, a digital interactive edition of his works, such as WAB’s Wittgenstein IDP: The Nachlass in Interactive Dynamic Presentation, to complement static ones such as traditional print editions and other, non-interactive digital editions. For similar reasons, the authors argue, WAB’s ongoing and future development of digital tools and resources for the study of Wittgenstein’s philosophy must be closely coordinated with the evolving needs of WAB’s large and diverse user community.