Abstract

Despite the increasing attention paid to the conception of philosophy as a way of life and in spite of the centrality of the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein today, little has been written about the connection between the later and the work of one of the main contemporary representatives of the former subject: the French historian and philosopher Pierre Hadot. This paper discusses the influence that the so-called later Wittgenstein had on the French philosopher. It begins with a discussion of Pierre Hadot’s own acknowledgement of this influence. It then explores the Wittgensteinian notion of language games (section 1) and how this notion played a role in the formation of Hadot’s conception of philosophical works as spiritual exercises (section 2). Finally, in the section 3, it links the ideas exposed in sections 1 and 2 and elaborates them further in connection with some remarks on the conception of philosophy as a way of life.