Touchy Subjects

Understanding Wittgenstein // How philosophy is not like science

It’s important to understand what Wittgenstein was trying to do in philosophy. Some people think that philosophy should be more like science, and because it’s confused, it doesn’t pay enough attention to the facts about reality,  it needs to be reformed. They think that Wittgenstein was such a reformer of philosophy. He wanted to clear up its confusions, have it be more empirical,  so it would be more useful like science.

Understanding Wittgenstein // Why Philosophers are Ignored

Some philosophers come to controversies and want to set the existing arguments on some strong foundation. They want to make explicit just what everyone is assuming, the grounds on which the argument takes place, …and no one pays any attention.

Descartes is one of these. He wanted to find a way to resolve disputes. He thought, well, if we can all agree to our starting point, maybe we can get somewhere. But, what he ended up saying was that, well, it was hard to say exactly what anyone could agree on. He wanted to say that he could say, without a doubt, that he existed. Then things got controversial. He wanted to solve problems out in his community. He ended up showing that it might be impossible to even begin those arguments. He was not helping. So, people thought he made interesting philosophy, but not very helpful advice.

Songs to hear, paintings to see, art to do // part 1

I’ve been interested in music, and in this piece. My parents and grand parents lived and probably listened to this song. My dad liked country music.  His mom played a guitar, from what my dad said about her. My mom learned to play the piano.

This is a great song.

Understanding Wittgenstein // Dealing with Theories

I’ve been trying to make the point that Wittgenstein was not someone who spent his time exorcising any personal demons. He grew up in a rich family, met with and spoke with people who had a fair understanding of the political, intellectual, and cultural situation in Europe and the world, in general.

Wittgenstein expressed interest in literature that raised issues about the world. Ivan Karamazov spoke about how God could allow evil in the world.

I believe Wittgenstein did not slink away from these issues in order to worry about his own pimples.

Political Voice // Michael Hudson

 

http://michael-hudson.com/2012/01/hudson-keiser-on-2012-imperialism/

Understanding Wittgenstein // His Attack on philosophically peculiar Theories

The following is a  summary of what I take to be Ludwig Wittgenstein’s place in the philosophical universe.

We must imagine what Socrates was telling the Athenians. He was teaching them a lesson. The lesson was his assessment of  how we understand reality. The lesson is really about his own foundationalism. That is, our understanding of everything is like a house. That house has to be built on a firm and steady foundation. For him, the foundation of our understanding is the way we argue. The way we argue, according to Socrates, is a matter of logical argument.

By logical argument, Socrates meant that such arguments were a matter of just a premise and a conclusion, where the premises were supposed to be evidence or arguments for the claim or conclusion of the argument. Socrates’ preference for this account of argument was in contrast to an alternative account of argument involving not just two, but three terms, including a controversy which arguments are about, a claim made about that controversy, and support given for the claim.

According to Socrates, it was very important that people accept his lesson that arguing logically was the basis or foundation for our understanding of anything.