Wittgenstein’s Words
From “Notebooks 1914–1916,” 2nd edition (University of Chicago Press, 1984):
“One of the most difficult of the philosopher’s tasks is to find out where the shoe pinches.” (p. 60)
“Certainly it is correct to say: Conscience is the voice of God.” (p. 75)
From “The Blue Book” (Harper & Row, 1965):
“For remember that in general we don’t use language according to strict rules Ρ it hasn’t been taught us by means of strict rules, either.” (p. 25) “The difficulty in philosophy is to say no more than we know.” (p. 45)
From “Philosophical Occasions 1912–1951” (Hackett Publishing Company, 1993):
“Philosophers are often like little children, who first scribble random lines on a piece of paper with their pencils, and now ask an adult ‘What is that?’” (p.193)
From “Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius” by Ray Monk (Penguin, 1991):
“I am sitting with a philosopher in the garden; he says again and again ‘I know that that’s a tree,’ pointing to a tree that is near us. Someone else arrives and hears this, and I tell them: ‘This fellow isn’t insane. We are only doing philosophy.’” (p. 578)
From “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus” by Ludwig Wittgenstein, translated by C.K. Ogden (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1922):
Proposition 7: “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
