Perplexities

the long version

An alternative title might have been “glimpses of one man’s way of doing philosophy.” Conscious of the near-absurdity of trying to look over one’s own shoulder, I offer these backward glances to encourage beginners and to entertain fellowpractitioners. I became permanently addicted to philosophical investigation as a young Cambridge mathematician, on the verge of a research career, well trained in the natural sciences and the humanities, but oblivious of the very existence of philosophy. I was extraordinarily fortunate to be able to attend the classes of G. E. Moore, at the height of his formidable powers; of Wittgenstein, recently returned...