ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Spengler influenced Wittgenstein's attitude toward his own time. It shows that this influence shape Wittgenstein's attitude toward his philosophical work. This attitude reflects itself both in Wittgenstein's view of the relation of his work to his time and his gloomy expectation. The chapter reviews that Wittgenstein: carried a Spenglerian view of his time to his later philosophical work; viewed that work as opposed to its time; and maintained doubts as to whether his work would ever be appreciated in that time. During 1949 wide-ranging discussion between Wittgenstein and Drury, the latter remarked the great improvement in the quality of recorded music represented by the advent of long-playing records. The chapter begins with that remark from the preface to the Investigations and work backwards and it shows that Wittgenstein's reference to 'the darkness of this time' belongs to a family of interesting observations that he made in his writings and conversations over a long period of time.
