'For the person or persons that hold dominion, can no more combine with the keeping up of majesty the running with harlots drunk or naked about the streets, or the performances of a stage player, or the open violation or contempt of laws passed by themselves than they can combine existence with non-existence'.

- Benedict de Spinoza. Political Treatise. 1677.




Saturday, June 12, 2010

on certainty 509


509.  I really want to say that a language-game is only possible if one trusts something (I did not say “can trust something”)



Wittgenstein didn’t say can trust –

because he realizes –

anything you trust is open to question –

open to doubt

and so his fallback position –

is pretense –

pretend you can trust –

and he tells us the language-game –

is only possible –

if we have this pretense

at this point –

you really have to question –

Wittgenstein’s philosophical integrity –

it looks like he is saying –

hey – we’ll run with the lie

the reality is –

you have the language-game –

language use –

with or without pretense

and this is just to say –

you can be honest in your dealings –

or false


© greg t. charlton. 2010.