Published on the centenary of Wittgenstein"s birth, this book deals with his aims and importance. Oswald Hanfling begins with an account of Wittgenstein"s "Tractatus" and proceeds to the later philosophy of "Philosophical Investigations". He then attempts to apply Wittgenstein"s ideas to long-standing problems about language, knowledge, the mind and philosophy itself. Common misunderstandings about Wittgenstein are discussed and there is a detailed examination of the "private language" argument. The text is written in a plain English which is designed to make it accessible to the general reader and the book covers important philosophical developments since Wittgenstein"s death. Oswald Hanfling is the author of "Logical Positivism" and "The Quest for Meaning".