ABSTRACT
Wittgenstein’s influence on the Vienna Circle is both central and complicated. The Tractatus was a major topic of discussion in the Circle, but also divided its members. This chapter traces the complex interaction of Wittgenstein with the Circle from the early reception of the Tractatus to Wittgenstein’s close collaboration with Schlick and Waismann in the 1930s. But the chapter also emphasizes the divides created within the Circle concerning Wittgenstein, especially with Neurath’s and Carnap’s critical reactions not only to the Tractatus but also to the increasing influence of the middle Wittgenstein after 1930. After a section on the reception of the Tractatus, this chapter analyzes the increasing influence of Wittgenstein upon Schlick and Waismann and the increasing rejection of the Wittgensteinian approach by Carnap and Neurath.
