MS 152
C8
General note on C1-8
The so-called C-series of notebooks comprises 8 notebooks. The only reasons why these notebooks were grouped together (not by Wittgenstein himself, but by the trustees of his papers) seem to be the following: they are the same size, they contain the same number of pages (96), and they date back to the same period of Wittgenstein’s work (1933-36). The order (1 to 8) is more or less in accord with the chronological order in which they were written.
Even though it is tempting to associate “C” with Cambridge, no real reason for this name is known. The association with Cambridge is particularly tempting in view of the fact that several of these notebooks contain material written in preparation of Wittgenstein’s classes or dictations. But there is no evidence whatsoever that the name “C” was used by Wittgenstein himself.
The opening pages of this notebook and at least parts of its middle section were evidently used in the writing of remarks belonging to MS 115ii, that is to say, to the German translation and revision of the Brown Book. So, the opening pages can confidently be dated at autumn, ca. September-October, 1936. Later parts of the manuscript correspond to remarks in the early manuscript version of Philosophical Investigations, i.e. MS 142. So, this notebook evidently played a role in the production of the Urfassung of the Investigations. Some of the relevant connections have been pointed out in the Kritisch-genetische Edition of Philosophische Untersuchungen.