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EL PARAISO: A HUMILIATION OF PLEASURES
LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN"I know that queer things happen in this world. About Wittgenstein The image of Wittgenstein as a religious figure, a seer, saint-like and suffering for mankind, runs through many accounts of him, whether fact or fiction. He told the economist John Maynard Keynes that he had given up philosophy to teach in a village school in Austria in the 1920s because the pain that teaching gave him overcame the pain of doing philosophy- as a hot-water bottle pressed against the cheek takes away the pain of a toothache. In the feline comment of the philosopher and social anthropologist Ernest Gellner, "Wittgenstein's place was achieved by his suffering." In Jewish terms, he could be seen as a traditional wilderness-wandering tsaddik, a holy man. He is portrayed in one novel as "the desert mystic, subsisting on bread, rainwater and silence." But to leave the characterizations there would be to mislead. Above all, Wittgenstein comes down to us as dynamic and powerful. Those who knew him- both friends and foes- describe him in language that is without moderation. And the invocation of Wittgenstein in a stream of literary and artistic works outside philosophical publications is a striking confirmation of the hold he exercises long after his death. In trying to understand this fascination, perhaps the secret is to see Wittgenstein as a literary figure who fits as easily into a discourse on authors- such as Proust, Kafka, Eliot, Beckett-as into a study of philosophers.... Another part of his spell is that he appeared able to achieve originality and excellence wherever he took an interest. As a young engineering student in 1910 he patented a novel aircraft engine that anticipated the jet engine and was reinvented and tested successfully in 1943. In the First World War he became a much-decorated fighting soldier. Between the wars he compiled an innovative dictionary for primary-school children and played a major part in the design of a much-praised modernist house. In the Second World War, working as a laboratory assistant in a medical team researching into wound shock, he devised new apparatus for measuring changes in respiration brought on by changes in blood pressure. Wherever Wittgenstein went he left his creative mark. Wittgenstein Fun Facts: * On Cambridge University's campus in 1946, Wittgenstein and Karl Popper, two of the twentieth century's most notable philosophers, squared off in an intense 10-minute exchange rumored to have led to Wittgenstein brandishing a red-hot poker. * Wittgenstein grew up surrounded by music and high art. He loved music passionately, and knew intimately the works of the great composers. He was an astoundingly good whistler. * Wittgenstein thought simple morality tales, like those found in Tolstoy’s Three Hermits’ show us the nature of ethics and value. * Wittgenstein says that the attempt to say what can only be shown creates nonsense. Wittgenstein Links: More biographical information on Wittgenstein Read a review of a movie about Wittgenstein Heard of Platonic kiss? Find out what a Wittgenstein kiss is... |
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