TLS signed “L. Wittgenstein,” one page, 8.5 x 11, November 29, 1934. A letter of recommendation for his student, Alice Ambrose, later a renowned philosopher in her own right. In part: “Miss Alice Ambrose has been attending my classes regularly since the beginning of last academical year. I have been giving two courses of conversation classes entitled ‘Philosophy’ and ‘Philosophy for Mathematicians.’ As my classes are very small I have been in a position to get to know her ability, her way of thinking and discussing, and general attitude towards the subject. I am greatly impressed by her extraordinary seriousness and sincerity, and have found her indefatigable in trying to understand the extremely difficult problems we have been discussing…The problem of mathematical finitism which she has set herself to investigate is a central problem of modern philosophy.” In very good to fine condition, with central vertical and horizontal folds and small tears and creases along edges.
Alice Ambrose studied under Wittgenstein at Cambridge University, growing close to him as he worked on his Blue and Brown Books, in which he traced the history of his philosophical thought between his famous Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and his later works. During the 1934 school year, Wittgenstein spent four days every week dictating the Brown Book to Ambrose and another of his students, Francis Skinner. Their friendship came to an abrupt halt in 1935—less than six months after this complimentary letter—when she published an article entitled ‘Finitism in Mathematics (I)’ in the April issue of the philosophy journal Mind, outlining Wittgenstein’s thoughts on the subject without his input or approval; despite his objections, she went on to publish the second part of her article shortly after. Although he continued to supervise her PhD, the once-cordial relationship became an embattled one, and he resigned as her advisor the following year—the two would never reconcile before his death in 1951. Within this context the present letter is particularly remarkable in both its date and content, as Wittgenstein applauds Ambrose’s interest in the very subject that would fracture their friendship a year later. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA.
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