[C] [Wittrs] Re: Reading Wittgenstein, was Wittgenstein on Religious Belief
- From: J DeMouy <jpdemouy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: wittrsamr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 7 Dec 2009 00:23:58 -0800 (PST)
It has occurred to me (again, with no good reason?) that perhaps the "someone"
to whom the general addressed his remarks was Paul Wittgenstein and the general
was the one to whom Paul served as aide-de-camp on the Italian front after his
release (right arm amputated) from a Siberian prison camp.
This would fit both L. Wittgenstein's knowledge of this intimate conversation
and his reluctance to mention the source - not wishing to break his brother's
trust.
And the general's concern for this young man whose once-promising career as a
concert pianist had been seemingly ruined would certainly make sense. As an
older man, knowing whatever would come of him, he would leave behind young men
like Paul to carry on despite their wounds, might well have said something like
that.
Of course, this is all wildly speculative. And it is but one way of "fleshing
out" such a remark. My point though is that it behooves us to reflect in this
way, to consider these remarks in all their particularity, rather than to rush
to draw some moral - or worse, some "theory" - from these remarks of
Wittgenstein's. He wants us to work on these comments and to let them work on
us and through this to consider matters - in this case, religious belief - in
ways we might not otherwise have considered.
JPDeMouy
==========================================
Need Something? Check here: http://ludwig.squarespace.com/wittrslinks/
Other related posts:
