Wittgenstein, Ludwig—Austrian-born logician and philosopher (1889-1951) who taught at Cambridge University. He is probably the most influential theorist of language in the twentieth century. In Tractatus Logico-philosophicus he wrote, My propositions serve as elucidations in the following way: anyone who understands me eventually recognizes them as nonsensical. ... He must transcend these propositions, and then he will see the world aright.