[C] [Wittrs] criticizing Wittgenstein
- From: J DeMouy <jpdemouy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: wittrsamr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:47:31 -0800 (PST)
Sean,
> One wants to say: you cannot criticize Wittgentein before
> communion.
I would say: criticize what you will. But don't be surprised if these
criticisms miss their mark.
I'd even maintain that my own understanding of Wittgenstein has benefited - in
my earliest encounters with the work and to this day - from a certain critical
mindset. One might say that this is a matter of temperament or "learning
styles". Perhaps.
CJ has mentioned the careful, line by line reading that I would imagine any
serious Wittgensteinian should find familiar. Looking to see how these remarks
can be applied in one's own life is certainly a valuable activity as well.
I've also found it valuable to read with one or more partners (and I've been
fortunate in having romantic partners who were thoughtful and intelligent as
well as curious and patient enough to indulge me in this, but academic settings
also provide opportunities), sometimes assuming the roles of different
interlocutors in the text, trying to develop a better understanding of what
motivates each "voice".
(It's interesting, particularly with _Philosophical_Investigations_ that often
the "flow" of the text would be anticipated - without deliberate planning on
our part - by the flow of our own discussions.)
I'd even be inclined to say that a proper understanding of the work demands
that it be read critically, due to its dialectical nature. Only be getting
"inside" all of the "voices" does one appreciate the point in what is being
said. And since the voices are clearly not all in agreement...
JPDeMouy
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