[lit-ideas] Re: Wittgenstein and the Metaphysics of Experience
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 09:50:48 EST
In a message dated 11/9/2009 7:24:16 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
"Death is not an event in life" etc.
-- Well, 'metaphysics of experience' is a cliche. Amazon.com books first
titles refer to the phrase as applied to Collingwood, Kant, William James,
and a few others.
---- I don't know about Hacker. He replaced Grice (in a way) as lecturer of
philosophy at St. John's -- so I know that ROOM very well.
---- (Strictly, Grice was replaced by Gordon P. Baker before).
----
"to die" is an odd verb to refer to an experience.
Never mind 'death'.
"I'm dying", said the sailor -- as he was drowning.
But of course, he cannot utter, "I am dying" unless he is NOT dying.
i.e. unless he is alive.
In opera it's very jocular to have sopranos, singing how they are about to
die (for the duration of the complete aria with recitative and cabaletta).
-----
"I die" being in a non-continuous tense, is perhaps more to the point, but
again, Descartes's cogito plays against it:
If utterer utters "I die" he is alive, i.e. he is expressing something
false.
For Grice, to save the face of the conversationalists, he recommends the
use of the
future (however mediate):
"I will die".
Surely, the past is closed as well, "I died".
Only "I will die" or "I shall die" (as Grice preferred) can express a true
judgement.
If the others don't, what metaphysics of experience are yous talking about!
Cheers
JL
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