Abstract

From the island of certainty that is the Tractatus Logico Philosophicus to the everyday ethics of the mainland in the Investigations , Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophy traces a journey similar to the one etched into Robinson Crusoe's deserted beaches. In this essay I map out points contact between Wittgenstein's philosophy and Defoe's novel, thus providing a fresh glimpse at the philosophical underpinnings of the adventures depicted in Robinson Crusoe , as well as to Wittgenstein's philosophical motivations.