David Peat

Language 79about language.” To this Wittgenstein replies that the honest philosopherhas an obligation to demonstrate that such deep questions do notin themselves have any strict meaning. And, yes, Wittgenstein agrees,the layperson is right to be critical, maybe there is no point in doingphilosophy any more, other than in attempting to clear up confusion.Maybe there is really nothing more for a philosopher to say—the restmust be left to a Shakespeare or a Goethe. Maybe it is time for philosophersto resign their chairs and take up more useful occupations. Afterall, Spinoza made a living grinding lenses!Like a Zen master, Wittgenstein leads philosophy to the brink, tothe point of its nonbeing. Yet in the end, we can object to his methodby pointing out that Wittgenstein is no more than a confidence trickster.If all that can be said for certain are the statements of science, thenhow did we end up with the Tractatus and its statements about riddlesand the limits of language? Where did all that come from?Wittgenstein agrees with our objection. If anyone has truly understoodhim, they will realize that what he has said is really “senseless.”His words have been no more than a ladder used to reach a certainpoint. The reader who truly understands must “throw away the ladder,after he has climbed up on it.” For when he truly sees the world rightlyhe can dispense entirely with Wittgenstein’s propositions.And so the Tractatus ends: “Whereof one cannot speak, thereofone must be silent.” Wittgenstein had achieved certainty in what couldbe said, but at a very great price. All his life he struggled to remainhonest to himself and to his philosophy. Moreover, he took his ownadvice, and having sent his manuscript to Russell, retired from philosophy,though he did, from time to time, meet with philosopherswho wished to talk to him during this period.Wittgenstein now began to study the religious and ethical writingsof Tolstoy and reread the gospels. On being released from the prisonerof-warcamp he gave away the considerable fortune he had inheritedfrom his father and took a job as an elementary teacher in a series ofsmall Austrian villages.By 1925 frictions with the other teachers and villagers caused himto resign. He thought of entering a monastic order and for a timeworked as a gardener’s assistant. In 1926 he designed and built a man-