[Wittrs] Re: [C] Re: Free Will and Wittgenstein
- From: Sean Wilson <whoooo26505@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: wittrsamr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2011 22:12:08 -0700 (PDT)
J, after reading your post here, I want to make a few more comments. I think
there are a couple of mistakes here.
1. You write, "And he certainly would not have stigmatized the patient rather
than trying to ascertain the roots of the difficulty." I would not take this as
being accurate historically, if that is the way you meant it (which you may not
have). Examples are legion in Wittgenstein's life to show that he was
insidiously tempestuous with intellectualism, and could be quite rough with the
beliefs and feelings of others. Of course, he was also remorseful and giving --
but even these came about in him much as outbursts do. So I can't accept your
statement here as an historical one, if, in fact, you meant it that way.
One could read you, however, as saying this: a Wittgensteinian who had learnt
the craft of philosophic therapy would have to have an appropriate bed side
manner to do it. This would be an interesting line of discussion. We've never
had that topic in here. If Wittgenstein is right about philosophy, is he,
himself, the wrong sort of person to dispense craft of therapy? Very
interesting
question indeed.
2. It's not at all clear to me that "the free will debate" in philosophy
actually helps, rather than confuses, the physicist who thinks about freedom
and
quantum mechanics; or the child born of rape. These are interesting empirical
questions. Do scientists and clinical therapists consult analytic philosophy
for
this? Do parents? Does it make it better? You know, I've been an extremely good
father, as my daughter would attest. There have (and continue to be) very
important moments when I counsel her about very important things. If there is
need to comfort a child, or any weak (young) mind, metaphysics tends to make
for
the best medicine.
Could you imagine an idealist trying to comfort in the situations you suggest?
("It's all in your mind.") "Here, let me help you by giving you my theory of
freedom."
3. I think you are going down the wrong path by quoting from Culture and Value
with respect to Wittgenstein's view on metaphysics and spirituality. It really
seems like sand in the face, to me. I've always accept those positions
wholeheartedly. I use them often (and with my daughter).
The simple fact is that my position on the pointlessness of the "free will
debate" never infringed upon my humble acquiescence of the unknowable, and the
silent beauty that I can see in God stories and in the things science "can't
see." Wittgensteinians like myself wholeheartedly accept these things. What
Walter did not understand is that the "Carnapians" and Wittgensteinians dismiss
things for completely opposite reasons, using completely different means. And I
said before, Wittgenstein was an incredibly, incredibly dismissive individual
--
one who did so from an extremely lofty perch, I might add.
In a sense, one dismisses the way an artist does; the other the way a poor
machine might.
Regards and thanks.
Dr. Sean Wilson, Esq.
Assistant Professor
Wright State University
Personal Website: http://seanwilson.org
SSRN papers: http://ssrn.com/author=596860
Wittgenstein Discussion: http://seanwilson.org/wiki/doku.php?id=wittrs
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