tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701420428167031490.post6924054832398786627..comments2024-03-28T06:13:54.382+00:00Comments on Philosophical Investigations: TherapyPhilip Cartwrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458571502536123264noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701420428167031490.post-32993532260180054422011-10-13T20:36:58.010+01:002011-10-13T20:36:58.010+01:00Thanks Matthew.Thanks Matthew.Philip Cartwrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11458571502536123264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701420428167031490.post-47177594345406389922011-10-13T19:54:34.036+01:002011-10-13T19:54:34.036+01:00A stimulating post, Phillip. I will continue to t...A stimulating post, Phillip. I will continue to think about it, I am sure.jollekdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05743734210902639684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701420428167031490.post-59311481831807794222011-10-13T09:37:42.063+01:002011-10-13T09:37:42.063+01:00Having read back my comments from yesterday, I'...Having read back my comments from yesterday, I've decided not to delete them but have made a mental note that drinking in the afternoon is not a good idea for anyone with access to the internet.Philip Cartwrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11458571502536123264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701420428167031490.post-5335503718297789042011-10-12T18:42:09.561+01:002011-10-12T18:42:09.561+01:00The author adds: it should not be thought that W&#...The author adds: it should not be thought that W's ideas mean an end to philosophy, any more than finding the cause of diabetes means the end of doctors.Philip Cartwrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11458571502536123264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701420428167031490.post-19505246821867423662011-10-12T17:41:18.616+01:002011-10-12T17:41:18.616+01:00Indeed. There are many who draw comparisons betwee...Indeed. There are many who draw comparisons between W's philosophy and Buddhism. And you're also right to suggest there is an issue as to whether his approach applies only to individuals (who seek to cure themselves) or whether it involves "cured" people seeking to instruct "the unenlightened".<br /><br />It may come as no surprise to you that I take the latter route!Philip Cartwrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11458571502536123264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701420428167031490.post-509083991479451862011-10-12T17:33:08.393+01:002011-10-12T17:33:08.393+01:00Once the philosopher has gone through the course o...Once the philosopher has gone through the course of therapy, presumably this would then allow him to carry out his philosophy in a saner, clearer manner than before - freed from some of his "phantoms"?<br /><br />If that is so - and I am not just taking your metaphor and running amok with it - then W's work here is not an end to philosophy (or a cure for the disease of philosophy), but a preventative course to help those practising philosophy from falling into the age old errors of metaphysics.<br /><br />Perhaps an alternative metaphor might be found in meditation. The rather Zen-like experience of reading the PI becoming a "journey" towards a new form of philosophical enlightenment?GraemeShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05048386780257924179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701420428167031490.post-84676566892976792052011-10-12T16:34:44.994+01:002011-10-12T16:34:44.994+01:00As usual you have put your finger on the heart of ...As usual you have put your finger on the heart of the matter. I believe the issue you raise is the "ticking bomb" of the Investigations, and it is potentially even more incendiary than the one he delivered in the TLP. <br /><br />I believe that Wittgenstein's later philosophy takes us a certain way down a path and then leaves us to take the last few steps for ourselves. It invites us to understand ourselves (as a form of life) via a full description of our language. And what emerges from that description contrasts sharply with our modern conception of the human animal.<br /><br />The implications of that corrected vision go way beyond any technical philosophical questions. They strike at the very heart of the currently popular accounts of humanity and act as a corrective to what Wittgenstein called "the spirit of our age".<br /><br />The TRUTH that Wittgenstein tries to make us understand is not a truth (a priori or otherwise) about the world but about ourselves.<br /><br />I am constantly making notes for a post called "Why Wittgenstein Matters" which will, at least, explain why the Investigations has haunted me for the last 25 years. Doubtless that will clear up these issues once and for all and allow us to see the world aright. Ahem.Philip Cartwrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11458571502536123264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6701420428167031490.post-74216193335157626692011-10-12T15:54:36.978+01:002011-10-12T15:54:36.978+01:00Very nicely down and I agree with everything you s...Very nicely down and I agree with everything you say. But it is interesting that you do not mention philosophy as an attempt to get at the TRUTH. I suppose that is understandable since philosophy can seem just a technical discipline, but surely the real source of philosophy error must be the belief or hope that reason can grasp reality in some profound and superior way, that there is something beyond physics that can put our deeper anxieties to rest. Wittgenstein does not confront the meaning of death or why we can feel so alone, but Heidegger certainly tried to (even though his writing style and conclusions are not particularly to my taste).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com