If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world.
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
I'm doing philosophy like an old woman, first I'm looking for my pencil, then I'm looking for my glasses, then I'm looking for my pencil again.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Philosophy can often feel confusing and disorganized, akin to searching for misplaced items.
In this quote, Ludwig Wittgenstein humorously illustrates the often chaotic nature of philosophical inquiry. He compares the process of doing philosophy to the relatable experience of an elderly person searching for their belongings, implying that the pursuit of understanding is frequently marked by confusion and a lack of clarity, much like misplacing and re-locating everyday objects.
Themes
PhilosophySearchConfusionUnderstandingHumor
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophy lecture to encourage students, one might say, 'Remember Wittgenstein's humorous take on the process of inquiry.'
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.
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
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.
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
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?
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself.
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
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.
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
Similar quotes
The best philosophy is to do one's duties, take the world as it comes, submit respectfully to one's lot; bless the goodness that has given us so much happiness with it.
Horace WalpoleRead
History will never change because of politics or conquests or theories or wars; that's mere repitition, it's been going on since the beginning of time. History will only change when we are able to use the energy of love, just as we use energy of the wind, the seas, the atom.
Paulo CoelhoRead
I am a socialist; of course I am a socialist. To hold a vision that society can be fundamentally different, to believe that all people can be equal - that is not a new idea.
Bernie SandersRead
I have since often observed, how incongruous and irrational the common temper of mankind is, especially of youth ... that they are not ashamed to sin, and yet are ashamed to repent; not ashamed of the action for which they ought justly to be esteemed fools, but are ashamed of the returning, which only can make them be esteemed wise men.
Daniel DefoeRead
It was reasonable to struggle, to suffer, perhaps even to die, for a more just, a more compassionate society, but not in a world with no future where, all to soon, the very words "justice," "compassion," "society," "struggle," "evil," would be unheard echoes on an empty air.
P. D. JamesRead
It's a curse - this not wanting to look on naked realities. Until the war, life was never more real to me than a shadow show on a curtain. And I preferred it so. I do not like the outlines of things to be too sharp. I like them gently blurred, a little hazy.
Margaret MitchellRead