Topics Philosophers

Question Wittgenstein said that anything that can be said can be said clearly; how should we view this contention in light of the fact that Wittgenstein's own writing is famously enigmatic (or at least aphoristic)?

Accepted:
March 12, 2007

Comments

That's a good question and a really good answer would have to involve getting into the details of Wittgenstein's thought. But perhaps one thing that might be said at the outset is that saying something clearly and saying something that's easy to understand are not the same thing. A good textbook in advanced mathematics contains many clear statements – but that doesn't mean it's easy for anyone to understand them. Whether something's easy to understand depends in part on the clarity of the thought's expression, but also on the subtlety or complexity of the thought being expressed.

Question Wittgenstein said that anything that can be said can be said clearly; how should we view this contention in light of the fact that Wittgenstein's own writing is famously enigmatic (or at least aphoristic)? Accepted:March 12, 2007

Question Wittgenstein said that anything that can be said can be said clearly; how should we view this contention in light of the fact that Wittgenstein's own writing is famously enigmatic (or at least aphoristic)?

Accepted:
March 12, 2007