If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world.
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Self-deception is the hardest form of deception to avoid.
This quote by Ludwig Wittgenstein highlights the profound challenge of being fully honest with oneself. It suggests that the most intricate forms of deceit do not come from others, but from within—thus, confronting one’s own biases and self-deceptions is a difficult yet essential part of personal growth and understanding.
Themes
Self-DeceptionHonestyTruthIntrospectionPersonal Growth
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about personal integrity.
More from Ludwig Wittgenstein
All quotes →One 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.
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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?
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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
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 him: 'This fellow isn’t insane. We are only doing philosophy.
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
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