It’s the birthday of the man who said, “Philosophy is like trying to open a safe with a combination lock: each little adjustment of the dials seems to achieve nothing, only when everything is in place does the door open”: Ludwig Wittgenstein (books by this author), born in Vienna in 1889. He was described by his colleague Bertrand Russell as “the most perfect example I have known of genius as traditionally conceived: passionate, profound, intense, and dominating.” He was the youngest of nine children; three of his brothers committed suicide.
Wittgenstein was born into one of the richest families in Austro-Hungary, but he later gave away his inheritance to his siblings, and also to an assortment of Austrian writers and artists, including Rainer Maria Rilke. He once said that the study of philosophy rescued him from nine years of loneliness and wanting to die, yet he tried to leave philosophy several times and pursue another line of work, including serving in the army during World War I, working as a porter at a London hospital and teaching elementary school. He also considered careers in psychiatry and architecture — going so far as to design and build a house for his sister, which she never liked very much.
Wittgenstein was particularly interested in language. He wrote: “The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for.” WA
I think I have to disagree with the statement "the limits of knowledge are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for." I think this is fundamentally false, because it ignores the fact that we have other kinds of knowledge that can't be explained. This is evident in the animal kingdom; animals know lots of things even though they do not have words for what they know.
ReplyDeleteThat's an ongoing dispute among philosophers. Some say you don't know it if you can't SAY it... others assert the reality of ineffable or mystical knowledge. My own view is that we PERCEIVE and experience much that we can't find words for. Is the object of such perception experience "knowledge" or is it something else? One possible answer: it's poetry, for those who can compose.
DeleteBut whatever "it" is, it's real.
I love that opening quote and I don't think I have heard it before which makes it even better. I interpret it as that philosophy is very difficult when it comes to discovering the greater whole. You need to finish every little move or thought before you can progress to finding true fulfillment.
ReplyDeleteSection #5
i like your interpretation of this quote
DeleteThe lock metaphor is perfect and not just for philosophy. It's hard to see what the fruits of our labor will result in until the final moment when it all comes together.
ReplyDelete#5
Thats a very nice quote, it was very strong i feel like it can be used for a number of things
ReplyDelete