The analytical philosopher von Wright once said that anyone who pioneered a school of thought in the history of philosophy can be included in the ranks of great philosophers, but few great philosophers can create two schools, and Wittgenstein is the prodigy who pioneered the two main schools of analytic philosophy.
His seminal work was two small aphorisms: the 20,000-word Treatise on the Philosophy of Logic, the "Bible" of the Vienna School, and the posthumous Study of Philosophy, which pioneered the school of analysis of everyday language. Emerson once said, "The biography of a great genius is always the shortest." ”
This sentence obviously does not apply to Wittgenstein, whose numerous memoirs, written by his students, relatives and friends, and even those who have only one side of the other side, vividly portray Wittgenstein's legendary life: the son of the Austro-Hungarian steel king who came to England to learn the most advanced jet aircraft technology of the time, but he indulged in speculation on the basic problems of mathematics and mathematical logic.
After being recognized by the three founders of analytic philosophy, Freig, Moore and Russell, he transferred to Cambridge University to study philosophy. After writing "On the Philosophy of Logic", he thought that he had solved all philosophical problems and there was no need to continue to study philosophy, so he went to a remote mountain area to work as a primary school teacher at the time of his fame, during which he summed up the classroom teaching experience and published his second book, "Dictionary of national primary schools", which was published publicly before his death.
Wittgenstein lived a simple life throughout his life, his teaching and thinking were simple and unpretentious, and his interactions with people were spontaneous, sometimes simple to the point of impersonality. He physically punished students while working as a primary school teacher and was sued by his parents, forcing him to leave elementary school. After returning to Cambridge, he expressed himself bluntly in class, and when he thought that the students' questions were not to the point or misunderstood their meaning, he often dismissed them as "nonsense".
After becoming the head of the philosophy department, the meetings he presided over were sometimes silent. In his autobiography, Popper recorded the "Fire Tong Incident" in which he confronted Wittgenstein: Popper was invited to give a lecture at Cambridge, wittgenstein presided over the meeting, and when it came to moral issues, Wittgenstein waved a tong and asked, "Give me an example of a universally accepted moral code." ”
Popper replied, "Don't threaten your guests with fire tongs." Wittgenstein angrily slammed the door and left the room. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but Wittgenstein did voluntarily resign as professor because he realized that he lacked the patience that a teacher should have.
Wittgenstein's memoirs also leave questions of confusion: first, Wittgenstein claimed to his students that The Theory of Logical Philosophy was essentially an ethical work, that he had devoted his life to religious questions, but that in his writings and notes he rarely thought about ethical and religious issues; second, in his private letters of 1920-1921, Wittgenstein repeatedly reproached himself for being "full of the ugliest and most despicable thoughts," "morally dead," and "often trying to end his own life."
In wittgenstein, W. Battled affirms that Wittgenstein was once gay, and he vividly describes Wittgenstein's search for "comrades" in the Parrat Park of the Vienna Gay Center in the middle of the night, as well as his irresistible ambivalence.
In the 1985 revised edition of "Trek," Batlai said the source of the news was "credible reports from Wittgenstein's friends," but did not provide evidence. Wittgenstein's manuscript contains code names that readers cannot understand, and some words are obscured by the legal custodian, and one of the legal custodians, Anscom, said that these covered parts are related to Wittgenstein's private life, which further deepens people's curiosity about whether he is gay or not.
In the 1990s, the newly graduated Oxford University Master of Arts R. Munch wrote Wittgenstein: The Responsibility of Genius as a bestseller. The secret of the book's success, as the author puts it, is that he blends Wittgenstein's life and philosophy, overcoming the "unfortunate separation" of philosophical studies and memoirs, which depicts a living Wittgenstein pondering rather than the usual dry interpretation of incoherent notes.
In the author's writing, the goal that governed Wittgenstein's life was not a question of logic, language, or worldview, but a "genius responsibility." This goal was formed under the influence of Otto Waninger's character and gender, which he read in his early years. Waninger equates the gender difference between men and women with the difference in personality, and he tries to belittle female character and even deny the meaning of love. Silu edit
Instead, he idealized and typicalized male personality as a "genius." Geniuses have sensitive intuitions about truth and falsehood, right and wrong, and for geniuses, "logic and ethics are fundamentally identical." Waninger also said that "genius is the highest virtue and therefore the responsibility of every man" and that a life without genius as a responsibility is not worth living. Probably feeling he couldn't live like a genius, Waninger committed suicide at the age of 23.
The Wittgenstein brothers, 5 of whom committed suicide and his 3 older brothers, can be determined that one of them committed suicide because of his shyness to homosexuality. Wittgenstein was also apparently suicidal, as he has repeatedly stated in private letters. Unlike his brothers, he survived a spiritual crisis inspired by the goal of "the responsibility of genius".
The study of philosophy is not a profession for him to make a living, but a life-and-death responsibility, and philosophical thinking is his way to realize the responsibility of genius, to become a genius proves his existential value and gives him the courage to live.
As for whether Wittgenstein was gay or not, Munch cites some manuscript records showing that Wittgenstein did have unusual feelings for his male friends and would even be jealous of their association with others, but Wittgenstein recorded more of his shame and remorse for this emotion, and his self-condemnation was enough to prevent his feelings from developing into behavior.
There is no record of homosexual behavior in the unpublished manuscript, nor is there any evidence to support Batlai's assertion. To be fair, just as Wittgenstein had suicidal thoughts, he also had homosexual impulses, but it was a strong sense of genius responsibility that saved him from the brink of destruction and depravity.
Although the glimpses of celebrities' private lives have never fallen within the scope of scholarship, and the Western society that now embraces individual freedom treats homosexuality as the "private virtue" of others that cannot be interfered with, Munch's book shows us how important a philosopher's life goals and sense of responsibility are to understanding his theory.
Source: China Social Science Daily, September 2, 2013
Author: Zhao Dunhua
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