[lit-ideas] Wittgenstein's Substance Abuse

BERTIE: The Austrian engineer is defending the thesis tomorrow at 6  pm.
MOORE: In German?

-------

Abuse of 'substance' in  Wittgenstein.

(a) Otiose uses of 'substance'.

1.   Westminster use:

Peter is the  substance; I am the shadow.

(Not otiose  really)

2. I entered the room, and I saw the substance of my  grandmother.
equivalent  to:
"I saw my  grandmother"

PARALLEL abuse of 'substance' in  Wittgenstein:

Die gegenstand builden die  Substanz der Welt
equivalent  to
Die gegenstand builden den  Welt

----

Turning abusive in  20021.

"Hatte die Welt kein Substanz,  potatos"

"Nicht Welt, potatos"

"A world without  substance is not a world"

"Had the world no substance,  potatoes"

"Would the world not exist,  potatoes"

------

FRANK: How did the dissertation defence  go?
MOORE: I couldn't make potatoes of what he said.
BERTIE. It doesn't  help that it was actually OGDEN who should be getting 
the D.Phil. 
FRANK:  Anyways. Cricket match tomorrow, right?

"And thus, due to the irresponsibility of the Examining Board at  Cambridge 
it passed
   to be that a lot of fanatics could now say that his 'Austrian  engineer 
was a _doctor_ --
   of divinity almost. "He is a divine", Ottoline sighed.  

Cheers,

JL  



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