[Wittrs] Re: [C] Gettier, Wittgenstein & Silence
- From: John Phillip DeMouy <jpdemouy@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: wittrsamr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 08 May 2011 22:52:26 -0400
Idle speculation, but for whatever it's worth, I've entertained somewhat
similar thoughts at various times. Not quite for the reasons you give,
but connecting his silence with something like Wittgenstein's own
"quietism".
On Sun, 2011-05-08 at 19:43 -0700, Sean Wilson wrote:
> ... one of the things I find interesting about this Gettier thing that has
> been brought up recently, are two "facts." One is that Gettier apparently
> never published anything, except his "Gettier problem" paper. The other is
> that he apparently considered himself, at least initially, to be
> Wittgensteinian. (At least, according to
> this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Gettier).
> I've always wondered the relationship that silence has upon self-proclaimed
> Wittgensteinians? Imagine a formalistically trained academic who had, early
> on, come to see Wittgenstein's light. It wouldn't be inconceivable at all
> that this influence would discourage his or her publishing efforts. This is
> true of any academic, I think. When your thought become re-oriented, so much
> of what the club does that is its "busy work" is seen in such a different
> light. The idea is that there is not much out there that is "truly relevant."
> And if you cannot make that kind of contribution, your silence is seen as
> something more noble than those who "play act" their way in the academic
> social circle. To Wittgensteinians, intellectual pretense is an abomination;
> sincerity, honesty and usefulness are the virtues.
>
> I can easily see a Wittgensteinian wanting to quiet a discussion, and,
> therefore, not wishing to publish. And if your only contribution would be to
> show that the discussion needed quieted, you have these problems: (a) those
> not sharing your lights won't see it, and won't consider your work to be
> "methods;" (b) ordinary proofs of such a thing are "out the window" to begin
> with; and (c) the industry disfavors such an idea. Not to mention the
> level-shame you'll get.
>
> So, you slog out some company product, get your tenure, and go about in
> silence showing kids their sums -- knowing all along that this is what truly
> matters most for your particular situation, in the larger scheme of things.
> It's like Wittgenstein wanting to quit intellectual work to be a school
> teacher or to work as a laborer in Russia. (I myself have often had
> sentiments of just wanting to go work for the Post Office). These sentiments
> come from the idea that knowing Wittgenstein well means that many, many
> problems are dissolved and that numerous discussions need quieted.
>
> Please note:I'm not at all attributing anything here to Gettier -- I know
> nothing of him at all. I'm just wondering about the two said "facts" and
> about the relationship in general.
>
> You will note, of course, that the relationship doesn't seem to apply to the
> industry of "Wittgenstein expositors." One of several things could apply
> here. One is that the expositors are doing historical work and stuff like,
> "this is what he really meant" -- and that these efforts ARE relevant. The
> other is that somedisciplesare, shall we say, of another cloth -- or perhaps
> only use Wittgenstein to launch the agendas they are REALLY faithful to
> (e.g., POMO, behaviorism, etc.). And still others, perhaps, are just gassing
> under theauspicesof the label (who knows)?
>
> FWIW, my problem was never with "historical Gettier;" it was with "the
> Gettier problem" not ever being one. And with the ammunition it gave
> philosophy-the-social-club to perpetuate an irrelevant conversation -- not,
> of course, as a kind of training (karate), but in and of itself.
>
>
>
> Regards and thanks.
>
> Dr. Sean Wilson, Esq.
> Assistant Professor
> Wright State University
> Personal Website: http://seanwilson.org
> SSRN papers:http://tinyurl.com/3eatnrx
> Wittgenstein Discussion:http://seanwilson.org/wiki/doku.php?id=wittrs
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wittrs/
>
> <*> Your email settings:
> Individual Email | Traditional
>
> <*> To change settings online go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wittrs/join
> (Yahoo! ID required)
>
> <*> To change settings via email:
> Wittrs-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Wittrs-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> Wittrs-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
Other related posts:
- » [Wittrs] Re: [C] Gettier, Wittgenstein & Silence - John Phillip DeMouy
