Understanding Wittgenstein

Wittgenstein and Freud in Heaven

Paul — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:59:30 +0000

Wittgenstein and Freud meet in heaven and, after some time discussing what Vienna was like in the early part of the twentieth century, they get down to business. Wittgenstein goes first. With the slightly ironic, knowing smile that denizens of heaven tend to adopt when talking about earthly things, he starts to talk: “Well, Sigmund, [...]

Wittgenstein and Freud in Heaven is a post from: Understanding Wittgenstein

The Lightning Speed of Thought

Paul — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:55:36 +0000

Imagine the following conversation: A: I was thinking the other day about Casement. B: Oh yes. A: I think the way he was treated was terrible. B (looking puzzled): what do you mean? (suddenly understands) oh you mean Roger Casement the Irish Nationalist and poet? I thought you meant Patrick Casement the psychoanalyst. So what [...]

The Lightning Speed of Thought is a post from: Understanding Wittgenstein

Apology for Interrupted Service

Paul — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:01:54 +0000

It is always sad to see a blog where the blogger has run out of steam and this may well be what this site looks like (or even is!?). The truth of the matter is that this site signalled my wish to get back to thinking and writing about things and that has not changed [...]

Apology for Interrupted Service is a post from: Understanding Wittgenstein

Who Knows my Unconscious Thoughts?

Paul — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 12:33:42 +0000

Before Freud, the idea of unconscious thoughts and feelings would have seemed a contradiction in terms, but today such ideas have permeated deep into our culture. The games we play with these concepts, however, are far from clear. If I do not know my unconscious thoughts, who does and how do I find out what [...]

Who Knows my Unconscious Thoughts? is a post from: Understanding Wittgenstein

What Wittgenstein disliked in Freud

Paul — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:31:26 +0000

Wittgenstein was interested in Freud and thought he had something to say, but he also warned about his approach, indeed, he suggested that it was a way of thinking that needed to be combatted. So what was it that he didn’t like? One thing Wittgenstein disliked is the presentation of psycho-analysis as a science. Wittgenstein [...]

What Wittgenstein disliked in Freud is a post from: Understanding Wittgenstein

The Strange Feeling of Being Watched

Paul — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:03:05 +0000

Have you ever had the feeling that someone was watching you? It’s a feeling that many people talk about and it is seen as as a somewhat strange feeling, since it seems a bit uncanny that somehow we can sense that someone is looking at us. I would imagine that researchers have done experiments to [...]

The Strange Feeling of Being Watched is a post from: Understanding Wittgenstein

What did Wittgenstein want from philosophy?

Paul — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:08:55 +0000

Wittgenstein’s philosophy (or rather both of them – that contained in the Tractatus and that contained in his later writings) is unusual in that it does not set out to give answers to any of the great philosophical questions that drive most people to philosophy (including perhaps even Wittgenstein himself). ”So what?”, you might say. [...]

What did Wittgenstein want from philosophy? is a post from: Understanding Wittgenstein

Struggling for Certainty

Paul — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:00:55 +0000

On Certainty is the first Wittgenstein text I read cover to cover – in fact, I seem to remember reading it twice feverishly over one weekend. It’s more a collection of notes than a worked-up text and it is slightly infuriating – you keep thinking he has got the issue sorted and then he starts [...]

Struggling for Certainty is a post from: Understanding Wittgenstein