Introduction

The purpose of the Concordance is to allow users to search both images and text. This has not been possible hitherto. Electronic texts, and the indices to the published texts on paper, have permitted good access to, and analysis of, the lexical material but similar access to the images has been denied. This is regrettable since there are approximately 450 images in the published works, and about 2500 in the Nachlaß as a whole. Furthermore, these images are not simply illustrations which decorate the texts, but are integral to their understanding. The importance of non-lexical communication is discussed by the author in "The Concept of Knowledge in the Context of Electronic Networking" The Monist 80(3) 405-422 (edited by J.C. Nyíri).

In this Concordance the user has the opportunity to search amongst images and text, with the emphasis on the images. Each image has been associated with five keywords from the immediate co-text. These keywords have been selected with reference to the signification of the image. Using the Concordance it is therefore possible to research Wittgenstein's use of images in relation to his textual arguments. This is particularly important because he often uses visual examples or paradigms, e.g. the duck-rabbit, colour concepts, etc., when discussing the limits of language.

Wittgenstein's images are integrated in two ways: either acting syntactically as though a word in a sentence, e.g. 1031; or acting as a visual paradigm, e.g. 1045. In both cases the images are central to the concepts under discussion, i.e. so-called "seeing-as" and "proof". But pursuing the question "which other visual paradigms have been used in association with the concept of proof?" is only now facilitated.

The purpose of this Concordance is therefore to offer to scholars a tool with which to investigate the connection from graphics to text in Wittgenstein's published works. It also serves as a prototype for the larger task of providing an access tool to the graphics in the unpublished Nachlaß which could offer user defined graphical and text search facilities.

Structure and Scope

The content of the Concordance is principally based on Wittgenstein's published works as represented by Suhrkamp's Werkausgabe. The works published in English do not present themselves so conveniently as a set. There is one omission to this commonly recognized corpus. "The Blue and Brown Books" are not included in the Concordance because they are based on dictations by Wittgenstein and so the appearance of the graphics may not be reliable, i.e. are not known to be in Wittgenstein's own hand in the source text. In the Suhrkamp edition "The Brown Book" (von Wright item 310) is not included and "Eine Philosophische Betrachtung" (part of item 115) substituted. The latter has been omitted because it is not available in both English and German. Further details of G. H. von Wright's Nachlaß catalogue may be found in his Wittgenstein Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1982 pp.35-62.

In addition the Werkausgabe does not contain the most recent of the posthumously edited publications Last Writings on the Philosophy of Psychology Vol.2, nor any of the texts originally published in journals. Consequently these texts do not occur here either.

Finally, the content has been structured in accordance with "A Source Catalogue of the Published Diagrams" in Biggs M. & A. Pichler Wittgenstein: Two Source Catalogues and a Bibliography. Bergen, Norway: University of Bergen, 1993. This is the only reference work which catalogues the graphics, thus allowing unambiguous referencing. Page references in the Concordance are to the 1984 Werkausgabe, and to the first English edition, unless stated to the contrary. The titles of the English editions are abbreviated and follow the convention adopted in Biggs and Pichler.

The Concordance is organized under four categories:

1 Graphical appearance
2 German keywords
3 English keywords
4 Catalogue number

Searching by graphical appearance (option 1) is a powerful and unique feature of this Concordance. The graphics have been organized into 16 main groups and 96 sub-groups. Each category groups together graphical images which have a common form, e.g. arrows, quadrilaterals, etc. To help you navigate these graphics the search menu is on two levels. First you will find the 16 main groups. Click on the icon which represents the general form of the graphic you are seeking. You will then find a sub-menu showing various orientations and variations of the general form. Clicking on one of these icons will take you to an example from Wittgenstein's published works. For further information about the principles underpinning the indexing system see "Designing a Graphical Index to Wittgenstein's Nachlaß" in Wittgenstein Studien (5) Passau, Germany, July 1996. [ISSN 0943-5727]

The links in the Concordance work in a "forward" direction. When you reach the last in a series you will find that there is no further link available. If you want to go back use the "Back" facility of your browser. To follow another series of links click on the New Search button.

Some text links have a final page which shows alternative translations which have been used in the language you are not searching (i.e. links you would find in German but might miss in English, and vice versa). These links are based on the alternative translations found in the Werkausgabe and the corresponding English editions.

How to Use

At the end of the Introduction click on the New Search button. You must first define the search mode using the buttons on the left of the screen. Example: select a search by GRAPHICS. You will first find a page of 16 icons. These represent the main types of image. Click on the icon which most closely represents the image you seek, e.g. a cube is a three-dimensional form which is initially represented by icon 13, a tetrahedron. You will then go to a sub-menu which shows icons representing the variant forms of the main menu, e.g. various three-dimensional forms including cubes. Clicking on an icon in this sub-menu takes you to the first page of the Concordance that contains an image of this form. To see another example with the same appearance click on the image. The images are arranged in increasing order of complexity.

To search by German or English keywords click on TEXT (DE) or TEXT (GB) to define the search mode. Then simply scroll through the alphabetical list and click on the word you wish to see. A Concordance page will then open and your word will be in the table on the left. To see another example of the same word click on the arrow (< or >) next to the word. The next example will be in the table, but may not be in the same row.

If the arrow or the image does not link to another page then you are already on the last example. You may review your search by using the "Back" button of your Browser. You may also use the "Go/History" function of your Browser.

When you are viewing a main page you can follow several links:

Click on the image to see another image of that type
Click on the arrow next to the keyword to see another page with the same keyword
Click either side of the catalogue number to scroll through the catalogue
Click on the New Search button to begin a new search

The Home page and the Help page may be accessed after you click on "New Search"

Technical

The screens have been optimized for a resolution of 800x600 and a colour depth of 16 colours (VGA).

Cursor help text is available when using the graphical search screen if you are using Netscape Communicator version 4. The 16-bit and 32-bit software for PCs, and the PowerMac version, are distributed on the CD-ROM version of the Concordance, with the permission of Netscape Corporation. Other versions are available from Netscape. Cursor help is also available if you use Microsoft Explorer version 3.

For details of the inclusions, exclusions, and known problems with this version please read the file: About this version of the Concordance

Acknowledgements

The permission to include graphics from the published works is gratefully acknowledged of: Wittgenstein's Trustees and the following publishers; Blackwell Publishers and Routledge in the UK; and Suhrkamp Verlag in Germany.

During the design and development of this Concordance a number of people have reviewed prototypes and given valuable advice. I would particularly like to thank:

Prof G H von Wright of the University of Helsinki, Dr Hans-Johann Glock of the University of Reading, Espen Ore and Alois Pichler of The Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen, and Dr Dan Hutto of the University of Hertfordshire. I would also like to thank my wife Mary Alvarez Clarke for advice about the graphical user interface. Thanks are also owing to Netscape Communications Corporation for permission to bundle their browser "Communicator version 4" for PC with this CD-ROM.

If you have any comments on this Concordance please send them to: M.A.Biggs@herts.ac.uk