Ludwig Wittgenstein

28 points by human_v2 16 years ago | 38 comments

joecode 16 years ago |

My college abstract algebra professor, who was fond of grilling us in class, once asked me to define an "isomorphism". I said something to the effect that an isomorphism is when you have two structures that though technically different, share an essential similarity. To which he quipped "that's the Time Magazine definition of an isomorphism, I want you to tell me how you really define it, mathematically."

This article, I submit, is the Time Magazine definition of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Read at your own peril.

(Peter Hacker is the only academic I know who really seems to get Wittgenstein. You're probably best off ignoring the secondary sources on Wittgenstein altogether, but if you must, I recommend you read Hacker---please not Daniel Dennet.)

cchooper 16 years ago | |

I'll second Hacker and recommend his Wittgenstein's Place in 20th Century Analytic Philsophy as a reasonably accessible starting point.

kurtosis 16 years ago |

This recent new yorker article gives some interesting background on wittgenstein's extremely neurotic (and intersting, of course) family. Apparently three of his four brothers committed suicide, as did one of his sister's husband. I personally didn't understand his books - I guess a lot of what was revolutionary in his ideas (language games?) had already been absorbed and taken for granted by the time I was born.

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/04/06/09040...

coolestuk 16 years ago | |

I don't think that Wittgenstein's observations on "language games" has been absorbed and taken for granted. His interest in games was part of his exposition of the nature of universals (forms, essences). Considering that for at least 25 years students in the humanities (social sciences, media studies, literary studies) have been force-fed a simplistic 'anti-essentialism' as a political doctrine, I'd say that's proof that Wittgenstein's work is almost completely unknown outside of Philosophy Departments.

Sadly most of philosophy is unknown outside those walls. Ludwig may not have found that so sad - he saw philosophy as a kind of mental disability, and himself as the doctor.

Probably the best introduction to Wittgenstein is Janik and Toulmin's "Wittgenstein's Vienna". Even if one decides that philosophy is a fly in a bottle, there's fascinating stuff in that book on forgotten greats like Karl Kraus.

patrickgzill 16 years ago |

Spam from me (I know the author of this book) about a recent book on LW:

http://www.amazon.com/Wittgenstein-Flies-Kite-Story-Models/d...

intellectronica 16 years ago |

Daniel Dennett, himself a contemporary caricature of a philosopher, opens by asking whether a philosopher would be happier to become so successful as to strike down philosophy completely, or rather to become popular and read forever. Wittgenstein, says Dennet, aimed for the former, but achieved the latter.

To my mind, though, Wittgenstein did, in fact, succeeded in shooting down philosophy as we knew it. He did so by demonstrating with his own unique story and bizarre writing that (if to paraphrase Clemenceau) philosophy is far too important to be left to the philosophers. Wittgenstein's generation was the first one in which Philosophy as an academic and literary endeavour has contributed virtually nothing to our understanding of the world.

jollojou 16 years ago | |

I disagree with you. Wittgenstein's generation of philosophers did contribute something crucial to the twentieth century thought. At least Karl Popper (1902-1994) should be mentioned in this context. His arguments against the political philosophies that emphasise metaphysics are traces of the world that resulted in communism and fascism.

The German philosophers before Wittgenstein (Hegel especially) created a philosophical atmosphere in which it was acceptable to create large metaphysical constructions such as the proletarian state or the third Reich. Popper among the other liberal thinkers devoted significant part of their academic work to show that communism and fascism were founded on metaphysical constructions that could not deliver the dream they promised.

intellectronica 16 years ago | | |

You are right about Popper (other commentators mention him too), but he's the exception

joecode 16 years ago | |

Wittgenstein's generation was the first one in which Philosophy as an academic and literary endeavour has contributed virtually nothing to our understanding of the world.

I think I remember this refrain from a history textbook somewhere, perhaps. Maybe it is a common view, but I have never seen it supported. To begin with, it would be necessary to show precisely what previous philosophy had done to contribute to "understanding of our world". That very phrase, which is being wielded so causally to criticize analytic philosophy, is precisely the sort of idea that analytic philosophy would handle much more carefully...

To my mind, Wittgenstein's work is actually incredibly helpful, because it helps clear up deep linguistic confusions... confusions that have inhibited real progress in philosophy.

Confusion 16 years ago | |

Daniel Dennett, himself a contemporary caricature of a philosopher

Why should anyone bother to continue reading your comment after that poisoning of the well?

intellectronica 16 years ago | | |

Perhaps I should have avoided this side remark, since I didn't have the bandwidth to justify it.

anonjon 16 years ago | |

I am not sure if you are cheap-shotting Dennet and Wittgenstein or philosophy as a whole.

I think if you were to genuinely throw away the last 100 years of philosophy, you would not find yourself in an intellectually better place.

intellectronica 16 years ago | | |

I definitely wouldn't want to throw away a century of philosophy, but I don't think we'd miss much if we threw away a century of philosophers.

jamesbressi 16 years ago |

I don't think I agree with the author of this TIMES article. I think a philosopher deep down inside definitely wants to be right over read.

bmj 16 years ago | |

Isn't that the point he was trying to make? Most philosophers want to be read over and over. Wittgenstein was less concerned with his legacy of writings (only the Tractatus was published during his lifetime, and that was little more than his journal) and more concerned with solving problems.

Create 16 years ago |

What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence. -- Wittgenstein

chunkyslink 16 years ago |

time.com - a good example of a badly put together website.

It looks awful and finding stuff is virtually impossible. How wide exactly is that text column where I am supposed to read from ? 300px ?

mattlanger 16 years ago |

This just in: Daniel Dennett cites Ludwig Wittgenstein as one of the 100 most important people of the century. And coming up later on the 11:00 news: Heisenberg admits, "I never could have done it without Bohr."

CytokineStorm 16 years ago | |

Actually, I would say that Dennett's philosophy owes far more to Alan Turing than Wittgenstein, which is why I was surprised that he suggests that Wittgenstein's legacy may prove more valuable than Turing's. Pretty high praise considering Turing gave us the theoretical basis for computers.

Confusion 16 years ago | |

Dennett didn't choose who was in the Time 100. Dennett was just asked to write the article. But even if Dennett was Wittgenstein's BFF, then that detracts nothing from the content of the article, to which your comment is entirely irrelevant.

xenophanes 16 years ago |

Wittgenstein was a terrible person who hit children, hard, on the head:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Wittgenstein

> His severe disciplinary methods (often involving corporal punishment, not unusual at the time)—as well as a general suspicion amongst the villagers that he was somewhat mad—led to a long series of bitter disagreements with some of his students' parents, and eventually culminated in April 1926 in the collapse of an eleven-year-old boy whom Wittgenstein had struck on the head.[29] The boy's father attempted to have Wittgenstein arrested, and despite being cleared of misconduct, he resigned his position and returned to Vienna, feeling that he had failed as a school teacher.

But Wittgenstein was a much worse philosopher. He wrote, for example, confusing/obscure attacks on the value of philosophy itself. Not having any philosophical problems one is interested in or finds fruitful is completely understandable. And of course a person in that situation won't make any useful contributions to solving philosophical problems. The weird thing is why he's considered a philosopher, let alone a good one, by anyone.