If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world.
It is so characteristic, that just when the mechanics of reproduction are so vastly improved, there are fewer and fewer people who know how the music should be played.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the disconnection between technological advancements and understanding or appreciation of fundamental processes.
Ludwig Wittgenstein suggests that while advancements in technology, particularly in reproduction mechanisms, are making things easier, there is a growing disconnect with the underlying knowledge or artistry needed to utilize these advancements effectively. This serves as a critique of a society that may prioritize efficiency and capability over understanding and cultural depth, implying that true mastery involves more than just technical skill.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of arts education in an era dominated by technology.
More from Ludwig Wittgenstein
All quotes βOne cannot guess how a word functions. One has to look at its use and learn from that. But the difficulty is to remove the prejudice which stands in the way of doing this. It is not a stupid prejudice.
No one likes having offended another person; hence everyone feels so much better if the other person doesn't show he's been offended. Nobody likes being confronted by a wounded spaniel. Remember that. It is much easier patiently - and tolerantly - to avoid the person you have injured than to approach him as a friend. You need courage for that.
It's impossible for me to say one word about all that music has meant to me in my life. How, then, can I hope to be understood?
Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself.
My day passes between logic, whistling, going for walks, and being depressed. I wish to God that I were more intelligent and everything would finally become clear to me - or else that I needn't live much longer.
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Frege has the merit of ... finding a third assertion by recognising the world of logic which is neither mental nor physical.
It is true that I am of an older fashion; much that I love has been destroyed or sent into exile.
That low man seeks a little thing to do, Sees it and does it: This high man, with a great thing to pursue, Dies ere he knows it. That low man goes on adding one to one, His hundred's soon hit: This high man, aiming at a million, Misses an unit. That, has the world here-should he need the next, Let the world mind him! This, throws himself on God, and unperplext Seeking shall find Him.
Easy, simple and great laws, which await nothing but a sign from the lawgiver to spread prosperity and vigour throughout the nation, laws which would earn him immortal hymns of gratitude down the generations, are those which are least considered or least wanted.
This single Stick, which you now behold ingloriously lying in that neglected Corner, I once knew in a flourishing State in a Forest: It was full of Sap, full of Leaves, and full of Boughs: But now, in vain does the busy Art of Man pretend to vie with Nature, by tying that withered Bundle of Twigs to its sapless Trunk: It is at best but the Reverse of what it was; a Tree turned upside down, the Branches on the Earth, and the Root in the Air.