106. Suppose some adult had told a child
that he had been on the moon. The child tells me the story, and I say it was
only a joke, the man hadn’t been on the moon; no one has ever been on the moon;
the moon is a long way off and it is impossible to climb up there or fly there.
– If now the child insists, saying perhaps there is a way to get there which I
don’t know, etc. what reply could I make to him? What reply could I make to the
adults of a tribe who believe that people sometimes go to the moon (perhaps
that is how they interpret their dreams), and who indeed grant that there are
no ordinary means of climbing up to it or flying there? – But a child will not
ordinarily stick to such a belief and will soon be convinced by what we tell him
seriously.
if the child insists – what reply could I
make to him?
what reply could I make to the adults of
the tribe?
all you can do is state your case –
put forward your point of view
‘But a child will not ordinarily stick to
such a belief and will soon be convinced by what I tell him seriously’
Wittgenstein makes clear here –
that the real issue is rhetoric –
‘by what I tell him seriously’ –
yes you can try the ‘serious trick’ –
and you might have a win –
but can you be sure?
© greg t. charlton. 2009.
