Originally posted by bbarr
Russell on Wittgenstein: "...obstinate and perverse, but I think not stupid." Witgenstein was amazing, and his later work, particularly the rule-following considerations and the notion of a form of life, are just now being fruitfully discussed in ethics. His work is at least partially responsible for the rise of virtue ethics and particularism in the last f ...[text shortened]... would take his work on definite descriptions and set theory to have revolutionized the field.
See, a perceptive man - Russell had begun to realise Wittgenstein was a genius when everyone else just thought him a bit odd!
My favourite LW story is the one about him being awarded his Cambridge PhD for the Tractatus (which was already famous). Russell and GE Moore were the examiners. They had the
viva and were all laughing about how ridiculous the situation was. Moore (I think) made some desultory attempt to criticise it, LW responded, and the "exam" finished with LW putting his hands on both their shoulders and saying something like, "Don't worry, I know you'll never understand it..."
Russell hated LW's later works, though, and accused him of becoming intellectually lazy. I can see why it would have been contrary to everything he held dear about analytic philosophy, but a shame nonetheless, given their previous relationship.