Commenting on his “Tractatus”… It consists of two parts: the one written here plus all that I have not written. And it is precisely the 2nd part that is the important one.
ludwig Wittgensteinquotes
1889 - 1951
With his fame spreading far beyond academia, Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) is considered one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century, and his work central to analytic philosophy. Poets, playwrights, filmmakers, and artists of all kinds have been fascinated by the British philosopher’s work and charismatic personality. Though suicide tempted him in life, when he did die from prostate cancer in 1951, Wittgenstein’s last words were, “Tell them I’ve had a wonderful life.”
After studying aerodynamics and reading works of Bertrand Russell, Wittgenstein became obsessed with logic. He went to Trinity College to study under Russell and they formed a strong bond. He wrote voraciously at this time and developed what came to be known as his “picture theory of meaning.” However, always the perfectionist, he published nothing.
Wittgenstein didn’t believe an honest philosopher should stay in academia, so he joined the military, worked as a gardener, and as a schoolmaster as well. “Genius or death” was his mantra. So strong was his stance that man must free himself from earthly desires and attain his genius at the expense of all else.
Obsessed with creating a work of genius, when Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus was published, he wrote that he had solved all the essential problems of philosophy. Later, he acknowledged there was more to know. Now, he viewed philosophy not as a construct of theories, but as an activity to clear up the misunderstandings of language. There is no correct doctrine, he said, only clear views (Philosophical Investigations). Most of his works were published posthumously, with many still awaiting publication.
A nothing will serve just as well as a something about which nothing could be said.
Philosophy is not a body of doctrine but an activity.
Remember that we sometimes demand explanations for the sake not of their content, but of their form. Our requirement is an architectural one; the explanation a kind of sham corbel that supports nothing.
Our investigation is a grammatical one. Such an investigation sheds light on our problem by clearing misunderstandings away. Misunderstandings concerning the use of words, caused, among other things, by certain analogies between the forms of expression in different regions of language.
To believe in God is to see that life has meaning.
Just be independent of the external world, so you don’t have to fear for what’s in it.
We cannot therefore say in logic: This and this there is in the world, that there is not. For that would apparently presuppose that we exclude certain possibilities, and this cannot be the case since otherwise logic must get outside the limits of the world: that is, if it could consider these limits from the other side also.
Your all out to sea.
A confession has to be part of your new life.
