[lit-ideas] Re: What Wittgenstein Could See
- From: Robert.Paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Robert Paul)
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: 10 Aug 2004 20:55:09 PDT
JL writes:
The Humpty Dumpty quote:
`In winter, when the fields are white,
I sing this song for your delight --
"Only I don't sing it,' he added, as an explanation. 'I see you don't,' said
Alice. `If you can see whether I'm singing or not, you've sharper eyes than
most,' Humpty Dumpty remarked severely. Alice was silent."
The Wittgenstein quote:
"I can see you know nothing about rocks".
-------------------------------------------------
Truth be told, double-negationwise, I tampered with the quote a bit. The
'original' is in Malcolm's 1958 Memoir of Wittgenstein. (I don't have the text
at hand; I don't have _any_ texts at hand; they're all in boxes making their way
across town to be with the rocks.) Wittgenstein had some house plants in his
digs at Cambridge, and left them either in Malcolm's care or in the care of
another disciple for a few days. When he returned, the plants were dead.
Wittgenstein's comment was 'I can see that you know absolutely nothing about
plants.' If this isn't right, it's close. But it was plants, not rocks.
Thanks for Carroll's nice little philosophical joke.
Robert Paul,
who thinks Judy Evans is a babe
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