You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.
David Foster WallaceRead
One of the things that makes Wittgenstein a real artist to me is that he realized that no conclusion could be more horrible than solipsism.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Wittgenstein understood that the belief in solipsism, which posits that only one's mind is sure to exist, leads to a frightening isolation.
David Foster Wallace highlights Wittgenstein's artistic insight into the profound implications of solipsism, suggesting that it presents a terrifying reality where only oneself is certain, thereby creating a sense of deep isolation from others. This acknowledgment not only reflects a philosophical perspective but also underscores a fundamental human fear of loneliness and disconnection.
Themes
SolipsismPhilosophyIsolationWittgensteinArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about existentialism, you could use this quote to emphasize the importance of connection.
More from David Foster Wallace
All quotes →Everything in my own immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe, the realest, most vivid and important person in existence.
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It seems important to find ways of reminding ourselves that most 'familiarity' is meditated and delusive.
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Under fun's new administration, writing fiction becomes a way to go deep inside yourself and illuminate precisely the stuff you don't want to see or let anyone else see, and this stuff usually turns out (paradoxically) to be precisely the stuff all writers and readers share and respond to, feel.
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Acceptance is usually more a matter of fatigue than anything else.
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Bliss - a-second-by-second joy and gratitude at the gift of being alive, conscious - lies on the other side of crushing, crushing boredom. Pay close attention to the most tedious thing you can find (Tax Returns, Televised Golf) and, in waves, a boredom like you’ve never known will wash over you and just about kill you. Ride these out, and it’s like stepping from black and white into color. Like water after days in the desert. Instant bliss in every atom.
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