Book cover of Insight and Illusion

Book description

Peter Hacker's Insight and Illusion is a thoroughly comprehensive examination of the evolution of Wittgenstein's thought from the Tractatus to his later 'mature' phase. This is a reprint of the revised and corrected 1989 edition, with a new foreword by Constantine Sandis. Hacker's book is now widely regarded as the…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Insight and Illusion as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I first read Peter Hacker’s Insight and Illusion in its second edition, when studying for my undergraduate degree.

One of the things I loved about it was that its author did not shy away from heavily criticizing his own past interpretation of Wittgenstein in the book’s first edition.

Insight and Illusion was the first single-authored book to cover all phases of Wittgenstein’s life and thought. There have been many excellent introductions to Wittgenstein since then, not least those by Severin Schroeder, Edward Kanterian, and Chon Tejedor, but I&I (as I like to call it) shall always remain my first love.

From Constantine's list on Wittgenstein.

If you love Insight and Illusion...

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like Insight and Illusion?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Insight and Illusion.

Browse books like Insight and Illusion

Book cover of Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius
Book cover of Understanding Wittgenstein's On Certainty
Book cover of Wittgenstein, Scepticism and Naturalism

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,397

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Insight and Illusion, you might also like...

Book cover of The Tao of Poison

The Tao of Poison by Isham Cook,

A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.

The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…

Book cover of Draakensky: A Supernatural Tale of Magick and Romance

Draakensky by Paula Cappa,

A wind sorcerer. A dark spirit. An unsolved murder.

On the haunted Draakensky Windmill Estate, sketch artist Charlotte Knight arrives to live on the property, hired to illustrate the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke—a bright and lucrative opportunity to boost her struggling art career. 

She meets the reclusive spinster Jaa…

5 book lists we think you will like!