Evaluating the Bergen Electronic Edition

Abstract

Current Wittgenstein scholarship is marked by a striking discrepancy. The Bergen Electronic Edition, which has been published starting in 1998, is now completed and has dramatically changed the eld of Wittgenstein philology. Wittgenstein's entire writings are available in easily accessible facsimiles as well as in carefully prepared diplomatic and normalized transcriptions. This is nothing less than a quantum leap for anyone involved in going beyond the surface of the volumes published from the Nachlass by the Wittgenstein Trustees, some of which have been shown to require philological revision. The search facilities included in the Bergen edition are unique in providing almost instant access to all the data parsed by arbitrary queries. The very scope of the enterprise, offering a comprehensive, multi-layered digital rendition of the Wittgenstein corpus goes far beyond anything we can expect from traditional editions, including Michael Nedo's Wiener Ausgabe, in our lifetime. And yet - this is the discrepancy alluded to - a significant number of recent books on Wittgenstein does not even mention the Bergen edition.