Naples and the Tractatus
In a message dated 11/25/2015 8:33:25 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx quotes from Norman Malcolm, in a post under a
different
subject line:
"Sraffa made a gesture, familiar to Neapolitans as meaning something like
disgust or contempt, of brushing the underneath of his chin with an outward
sweep of the finger-tips of one hand. And he asked: 'What is the logical
form of that?'"
Sraffa was born in Milan, so it may be alleged he was 'quoting' or
'mentioning', not 'using' the Neapolitan gesture (it may be argued that only
Neapolitan can use a Neapolitan gesture).
In a Griceian analysis we may have:
i. By uttering the Neapolitan gesture, Sraffa meant that he felt disgust
for Witters.
Grice would here use 'mean', which is not part of the philosopher's lexicon
('significatio') is. And Grice would distinguish between:
ii. By uttering such gestures Neapolitans mean disgust for their
addressees.
What kind of 'mean' is this? "Natural" or "Non-Natural"? I would think
natural:
iii. By uttering the Neapolitan gesture G, a Neapolitan means-n that he
feels disgust for his addressee.
Since Sraffa is merely 'quoting' or 'mentioning' (and not 'using') the
gesture G, this does not apply, and we can say that he is using the gesture as
a vehicle of 'non-natural' meaning. And therefore Witters should not feel
offended (except he did find offence easily).
McEvoy goes on to interpret this in the light of Witters's remarks at the
very intro ("Preface") of the "Philosophical Investigations".
Witters writes:
"Even more than to [Frank Plumpton Ramsey's] — always certain and forcible
— criticism I am indebted to that which a teacher of this university,
[Piero] Sraffa, for many years unceasingly practised on my thoughts. I am
indebted to this stimulus for the most consequential ideas of this book."
The reference was to that rude Neapolitan gesture, which had a deep effect
on Witters.
McEvoy goes on to correct Sraffa's English, as he should (since Sraffa was
from Milan, and talking English to someone from Vienna -- go figure):
"Sraffa refers to "logical form" but W[itters] takes the point wider, than
any narrow view of "logical form", to be a point about anything connected
with "the logic of our language" i.e. what determines its sense."
I think this is correct.
For Sraffa's question was:
iv. What is the logical form of that [G]?
If we go back to Grice, and whether we take the gesture to mean naturally
or not, there is some propositional content involved, some sense:
v. Sraffa feels contempt for Witters.
THAT is the logical form of THAT. THAT is what Witters should have
answered, alla:
vi. Oh, that's easy. The logical form is "Sraffa feels contempt for
Witters". Next.
Instead, McEvoy refers to Hacker on unsayability.
McEvoy notes that taking Witters's "Philosophical Investigations" as a
reference to this unsayability
"dovetails with what is set out by Monk in his
biography of Wittgenstein."
and also
"with what is the correct interpretation of TLP -- in line with what Hacker
explains as to the role of 'unsayability'."
I believe Hacker's point also included unwhistleability:
Ramsey to Witters:
vii. If you cannot say it, you cannot whistle it either!
(And it may be argued that, in a formal dinner, a whistle is as rude as the
rudest of all Neapolitan gestures).
McEvoy goes on to say that the 'important stuff' -- McEvoy's words -- in
the Tractatus is implicated -- NOT McEvoy's words --, which poses the
question, to quote from McEvoy:
"'Why not write a book with the much more important stuff in it?"
I wonder if Witters's intention was to write a book _at all_! Wasn't it
Russell's idea that he published his 'stuff' in book form? Witters was very
casual when it came to 'publication'. When Toulmin published his book drawn
from his PhD dissertation under Witters ("The place of reason in ethics"),
Witters felt betrayed, because he thought that whatever he had said in those
'unwritten doctrines' (the Cambridge seminars) that Toulmin attended, were
'publications'. I think Witters is following St. Augustine here, who says
that 'to publish' (one's mind) is to make one's mind public.
McEvoy ends his interesting note with a point about "Wittgensteinians"
(like Pau; -- G. A. Paul, "Is there a problem about sense data?"). McEvoy:
"It is clear enough that not all so-called "Wittgensteinians" can be
properly following Wittgenstein, for they diverge too much between themselves."
Well, same with Grice. I once coined 'palæo-Griceian' to refer to Grice
("Grice is the first palæo-Griceian, if not Aristotle." -- vide Horn, "Greek
Grice: protoconversational rules in the history of logic"). Palæo-Griceians
diverge from Neo-Griceians. Mutatis mutandis I would refer to anyone BUT
Witters a neo-Wittgensteinian, and stick with calling Witters a
palæo-Wittgensteinian. And there is no legal rule (in Hart's use of this) that
prohibits
the proliferation of neo-Wittgensteinians, with the caveat, even that a
palæo-Wittgensteinian like Witters (academia being what it is) may become a
neo-Wittgensteinian -- or in the words of Peter Allen, "Everything old is
new again".
Cheers,
Speranza
When trumpets were mellow
And every gal only had one fellow
No need to remember when 'cos
Eerything Old Is New Again
Dancin' at your, Long Island, jazz age parties
Waiter bring us some more Baccardis
We'll order now, what they ordered then 'cos
Everything Old Is New Again
Get out your white suit, your tap shoes and tails
Let's go backwards when forward fails
And movie stars you thought were long dead
Now are framed beside your bed
Don't throw the past away
You might need it some rainy day
Dreams can come true again when
Everything Od Is New Again
Get out your white suit, your tap shoes and tails
Put it on backwards when forward fails
Better leave Greta Garbo alone
Be a movie star on your own
And don't throw the past away
You might need it some other rainy day
Dreams can come true again when
Everything Old Is New Again
I might fall in love with you again.
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
