'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.




Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Philosophical Grammar 76


76. Examples of the use of the word “wish”. Our aim is not to give a theory of wishing, which would have to explain every case of wishing.

The use of the words “proposition”, “language”, etc. has the haziness of the normal use of concept-words in our language.



the problem of explaining every case – can be one problem of theory –

the fact is you can never know whether you have or you haven’t –

the matter is uncertain

in any case – any theory – is a proposition – a proposal – open to question – open to doubt –

uncertain – regardless of what it does or doesn’t cover

as to the word ‘proposition’ – like ‘language’ – or any other word for that matter –

I say it is open to question – just how it is understood and used

what Wittgenstein here calls ‘haziness’ – is uncertainty –

and uncertainty is not the problem –

it’s the reality



© greg t. charlton. 2014.