“The games we play,” is something we’ve all heard, usually an excuse for shitty deceitful behaviour.
The rules may not have been broken but play has pushed their limits. For a while, twentieth century philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, thought he had broken the game of philosophy.
Coming up with the idea in the trenches of World War One, he wrote up a short book while teaching maths and walked into Oxford in the 1920’s to change how we look at the world.
Unsure whether his book even made sense, Wittgenstein told the great Bertrand Russell that he’d become a pilot if it was gibberish.
Russell assured him that wasn’t going to happen after reading just the first sentence.
One of the big tasks of philosophy is to understand how we know anything about the world.
Rene Descartes set up the modern game three hundred years previous with “I think, therefore I am”, but Wittgenstein walked up and knocked the whole fucking board off the table.
He first attacked how we use language, saying that anything outside logic doesn’t have meaning, so we can’t really talk about things like beauty, love or justice.
Later he attacked how we even connect a word and a thing. It was pretty well accepted at the time that if someone pointed at a tree and said “tree”, we’d get the gist of what was going on.
Wittgenstein laughed at this simplicity and asked what if the speaker is really pointing at something else (maybe pointing at leaves or wood) or even talking about an action that looks like pointing.
We can never be sure about something someone says because we can never be 100% certain what the sentence means.
For Wittgenstein, language mirrors life, so if we can’t be sure about language then we don’t even have the tools to start doing philosophy.
It’s all a bunch of wank (as many would agree).
But he knew he was running into trouble because, what were his own ideas at the end of the day? They were philosophy.
Wittgenstein at first tried to save his ideas, calling them a ‘ladder’ you could discard once understood, but this didn’t stop his philosophical own-goal (he’s not the first, nor the last, to score one).
He went on to call language a game, where the use is more important than the meaning. 
This meant there had to be rules, something to give foundation to the game, and that, Wittgenstein came to conclude, was our shared experience.
What does this mean? Trust your gut.
There are things language – and therefore thought – is just not good at tackling and how you feel is a better source of meaning.
This is in fact how a lot of philosophy is done. While reading we get a feeling that something is bullshit without knowing exactly why and then we spend a lot of time breaking down the argument to figure it out.
Whether having fun in the privacy of the bedroom or in everyday life, if it doesn’t feel right, then don’t believe it straight away, whatever the source, however authoritative it sounds.
Take time to think.
The only strategy to beat you is not giving you time, so never accept being pressured or rushed.
Ultimately, you’ll know if you’re onto the truth because you’ll be having a fucking great time!
![PXL_20240919_014611196.MP~2.jpg]( "PXL_20240919_014611196.MP~2.jpg")
The rules may not have been broken but play has pushed their limits. For a while, twentieth century philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, thought he had broken the game of philosophy. Coming up with the idea in the trenches of World War One, he wrote up a short book while teaching maths and walked into Oxford in the 1920’s to change how we look at the world. Unsure whether his book even made sense, Wittgenstein told the great Bertrand Russell that he’d become a pilot if it was gibberish. Russell assured him that wasn’t going to happen after reading just the first sentence.One of the big tasks of philosophy is to understand how we know anything about the world.
Rene Descartes set up the modern game three hundred years previous with “I think, therefore I am”, but Wittgenstein walked up and knocked the whole fucking board off the table. He first attacked how we use language, saying that anything outside logic doesn’t have meaning, so we can’t really talk about things like beauty, love or justice. Later he attacked how we even connect a word and a thing. It was pretty well accepted at the time that if someone pointed at a tree and said “tree”, we’d get the gist of what was going on. Wittgenstein laughed at this simplicity and asked what if the speaker is really pointing at something else (maybe pointing at leaves or wood) or even talking about an action that looks like pointing. We can never be sure about something someone says because we can never be 100% certain what the sentence means.For Wittgenstein, language mirrors life, so if we can’t be sure about language then we don’t even have the tools to start doing philosophy.
It’s all a bunch of wank (as many would agree). But he knew he was running into trouble because, what were his own ideas at the end of the day? They were philosophy. Wittgenstein at first tried to save his ideas, calling them a ‘ladder’ you could discard once understood, but this didn’t stop his philosophical own-goal (he’s not the first, nor the last, to score one). He went on to call language a game, where the use is more important than the meaning. This meant there had to be rules, something to give foundation to the game, and that, Wittgenstein came to conclude, was our shared experience.What does this mean? Trust your gut.
There are things language – and therefore thought – is just not good at tackling and how you feel is a better source of meaning. This is in fact how a lot of philosophy is done. While reading we get a feeling that something is bullshit without knowing exactly why and then we spend a lot of time breaking down the argument to figure it out. Whether having fun in the privacy of the bedroom or in everyday life, if it doesn’t feel right, then don’t believe it straight away, whatever the source, however authoritative it sounds. Take time to think. The only strategy to beat you is not giving you time, so never accept being pressured or rushed. Ultimately, you’ll know if you’re onto the truth because you’ll be having a fucking great time!
