74733361 Wittgenstein s Poker

8/13/2019 74733361 Wittgenstein s Poker

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Cory Ruda

To Pose the Question From Wittgensteins PokerOctober 25th, 1!"# $ batt%e o& e'ic 'ro'ortions (ou%d take '%ace that night) The

batt%e&ie%d chosen (as room *+ in ings co%%ege, Cambridge) The (ea'on o& choice

(ou%d not be guns, or s(ords, or e-en a &ire'%ace 'oker, though one (ou%d be

brandished) The (ea'ons instead (ou%d be (ords) The .uestion at stake is no %ess than

this# /s 'hi%oso'hy nothing more than a series o& con&ounding (ords, or are there rea%

'hi%oso'hica% 'rob%ems that cou%d be so%-ed to bene&it mankind0 T(o esteemed

'hi%oso'hers (ou%d take stance at either side, their &iery 'ersona%ities and un(a-ering

determinations c%ashing)

The story 'resented (ithin the co-ers o& Wittgensteins Poker: The Story of a

Ten-Minute Argument Between Two Great Philosophers is that o& the true nature o&

'hi%oso'hy) One combatant behind it is the $ustrian eccentric ud(ig Wittgenstein, a

'ro&essor o& 'hi%oso'hy at the 3ni-ersity o& Cambridge) *is o''onent that night (ou%d

be ar% Po''er, another $ustrian (ho taught at the ondon 4choo% o& conomics) They

(ou%d be meeting in room *+ in ings co%%ege, Cambridge, the room o& esteemed

'hi%oso'her Richard 6raith(aite, so that Po''er cou%d 'resent his 'a'er, $re There

Phi%oso'hica% Prob%ems07 during a meeting o& am!ri"ges Moral S#ien#e lu!)

Wittgenstein (as %ong kno(n &or his stance that 'hi%oso'hica% 'rob%ems are caused on%y

by the misuse, misunderstanding, and distortion o& the -ernacu%ar by those 'resenting

these 'hi%oso'hica% 'rob%ems, or Ordinary anguage Phi%oso'hy)7 Po''er took the

o''osing stance) *e be%ie-ed, o-er anything e%se, that 'hi%oso'hica% 'rob%ems mattered

8ust as much as the sciences in (hich he (orked)


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Wittgenstein matured inte%%ectua%%y (ith a dee' concern &or %ogic) *is mind

(orked in a -ery mathematica% (ay, (ith a %arge interest in the engineering) 6y the age

o& t(enty he had a%ready designed &u%% '%ans &or '%anes, and had designed ear%y, &u%%y9

&unctiona% 8et engines (hich in&%uenced great%y the &uture and de-e%o'ment o& modern 8et

'%anes) /t is then no sur'rise that he ste''ed into the %ogics o& %anguage) *e -ie(ed a%%

'hi%oso'hica% 'rob%ems as mere 'u::%es or games, su''osing that they e;ist on%y due to

the nature o& communication) Wittgensteins rea% concern in 'hi%oso'hy (as %ogic, and

its attem't to (ork communication into its basics, so that abstractions and -ague

e;'%anations cou%d be &u%%y remo-ed &rom communication)

Po''er, on the other hand, (as much more interested in &inding ho( 'hi%oso'hy

cou%d re%ate better to mans (ork in the sciences) *e (orked to 'ro-e that 'hi%oso'hy is

a necessary 'art o& scienti&ic gro(th, and that, to do so, society must (ork to &orget

about its seeming obsessi-e trust in em'iricism, and to mo-e c%oser to 'roo& o& scienti&ic

theory indirect%y) *e argued that abstract conce'ts, such as the scienti&ic method and

many 'hi%oso'hica% 'rob%ems, cou%d easi%y ste' out o& their em'irica% boundaries and

cou%d ad-ance and e-o%-e through indirect 'roo&s) /n addition to this radica% a''roach to

'hi%oso'hica% 'roo&s, he a%so (orked to rede&ine (hat is and (hat is not scienti&ic)

Po''er tried to do this by setting u' that &a%si&iabi%ity need be a re.uisite &or (hat is

scienti&ic< That is, i& a theory is scienti&ic, and i& it is &a%se, then it cou%d be 'ro-en &a%se

by e;'erimentation and obser-ation)

The t(o combined that &ate&u% night in room *+, and the resu%ts (ere both

e;'%osi-e, and mysterious) 3n&ortunate%y, the actua% e-ents o& their meeting are -ery

%itt%e more than -ague) What is agreed is that Po''er o'ened u' his 'a'er (ith -ery %itt%e


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introduction) *e 'resented the .uestion, $re there 'hi%oso'hica% 'rob%ems07 then read

his 'a'er) Wittgenstein 'osed the .uestion at some 'oint o&, What is a mora% ru%e07

(hi%e em'hasi:ing his 'oints (ith a &ire'%ace 'oker, and, at some 'oint, the res'onse o&,

=ot to threaten -isiting %ecturers (ith a &ire'%ace 'oker,7 (as gi-en by Po''er) $%so, it is

true that at some 'oint, Wittgenstein %oud%y %e&t the room) This cou%d be inter'reted

either in saying that Wittgenstein (as u'set, or that he sim'%y (as being himse%&, by a%%

accounts gi-en, in that he ne-er %e&t a room .uiet%y) *e (ou%d a%so &re.uent%y %ea-e the

meetings ear%y, in that he (ou%d ha-e com'%aints against him that he (ou%d o&ten s'eak

so much that no one e%se in these meetings (ou%d ha-e the chance to address any

issues) Po''er took this, ho(e-er, as Wittgenstein being de&eated,7 conceding his side

o& the argument) That is, at %east, (hat he said in his &uture reco%%ection o& the night)

Perha's, ho(e-er, Po''er on%y sa( (hat he (ished to see) *e admits 're-ious

kno(%edge o& Wittgensteins theories and ideas, ha-ing read his Tra#tatus $ogi#o%

C%ear%y, Po''er kne( that Wittgenstein (ou%d &ind much to ob8ect (ith in Po''ers 'a'er

and arguments) *e a%so, undoubted%y, had heard o& Wittgensteins &iery, 'assionate

dis'osition) Was Po''er, 'erha's, (aiting &or a 'i-ota% con&rontation (ith the &e%%o(

$ustrian thinker0 /t isnt -ery hard to be%ie-e, es'ecia%%y (ith his most esteemed hero

6ertrand Russe%%, a %ong (e%%9kno(n and in&%uentia% 6ritish 'hi%oso'her in the room (ith

them)

Po''er had %ong ho'ed to gain the admiration o& Russe%%, o&ten asking him &or

critica% re-ie(s o& his (ork, as (e%% as genera% ad-ice on di&&erent to'ics) *e e-en

dedicated a book to Russe%%, and Russe%% (as mentioned mu%ti'%e times in his biogra'hy)

Russe%%, though, ne-er seemed to notice the young man) *e had, ho(e-er, noticed


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Wittgenstein -ery ear%y in his %i&e, and %ooked at him, &or many years as a 'rodigy, as

(e%% as a successor in the &ie%d o& %ogic) This re%ationshi' had %ong been ruined,

ho(e-er, (hen Wittgenstein had decided that Russe%% (as no %onger ca'ab%e o& thinking

and 'roducing the (orks that he shou%d be ab%e to do, and once did .uite (e%%)

Wittgenstein and Russe%% no( -ie(ed each other as a (asted mass o& 'ossibi%ity and

'romise)

4o (as it 'ossib%e that Po''er (as sim'%y attem'ting to ha-e it out7 and gain

the u''er hand on Wittgenstein, (ho 'ossib%y (as a symbo%i:ation o& e-erything Po''er

disagreed (ith0 >id he care more about earning the a&&ection and admiration o&

Russe%%0 Quite 'ossib%y) >id Wittgenstein carry the same moti-es heading to the

meeting o& the ?4C0 ?ost %ike%y not) Wittgenstein (ou%d be hard9'ressed to miss a

meeting at any time, un%ess, o& course, he (ere out o& country or not a%%o(ed to attend

the meeting) There (ere .uite a &e( that he (ere more9or9%ess banned &rom &or his

tendency to s'eak so much that others (ou%d not be ab%e to 'artici'ate, as 're-ious%y

mentioned) $%so, as to his heated res'onse to Po''ers ideas, it (asnt un%ike him) *e

(as kno(n (e%% &or his 'assion (hen it came to debate) Po''er, to Wittgenstein, seems

more %ike%y as 8ust another -isiting %ecturer) To Po''er, though, it seems %ike that

Wittgenstein cou%d ha-e been seen as a threat, an enemy beyond that o& your a-erage

debate 'artner)

What o& the &iery debate, though0 What (as its signi&icance, its outcome0 The

debate (as ne-er &inished) Wittgenstein %e&t, and the argument (asnt tru%y taken u'

again by any o& the other -ie(ers) The t(o ne-er sa( each other again) Po''er, u' unti%

the day he died, be%ie-ed that he had one) /s that so0 >id he de&eat Wittgenstein, as he


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thought, and cause him to %ea-e the room is shame and %oss0 This can be s'ecu%ated

by anyone, but it seems un%ike%y) Wittgenstein (as not the ty'e o& man to concede to

anyone, inc%uding himse%&) *e (ou%d .uite o&ten %ea-e himse%& a(ake at night, and, (hen

younger, 'ace u' and do(n Russe%%s room 'ondering on %ogic and other 'u::%es that

he cou%d not so%-e) 6esides, a man (ho is .uoted as saying, $ 'hi%oso'her (ho is not

taking 'art in discussions is %ike a bo;er (ho ne-er goes into the ring,7 doesnt seem to

be one to storm out, beaten) Perha's this debate (i%% 8ust ha-e to go through history as

a dra()

/t seems si%%y to think, ho(e-er, that Wittgenstein cou%d be right in his thinking, at

%east in the debate he took u' (ith Po''er) To regard itse%& as mere%y the discussion and

thought on 'u::%e, 'hi%oso'hy (ou%d be demoting itse%& &rom its esteemed 'osition o&

thought and %ogic to mere%y a (ay o& &iguring out com'%e; games) Phi%oso'hy can and

has many times in the 'ast be 'ro-en to be more than 8ust musings o& (ord 'u::%es and

t(isting o& %anguage) For e-en one to disco-er the se%& through 'hi%oso'hica% musings

such as the astern 'hi%oso'hy9re%igions o& Taoism, 6uddhism, or Con&ucianism, or

e-en Christianity or /s%am can be considered im'ortant enough to de&ine itse%& as more

than 8ust games and 'u::%es) thics and mora%ity ha-e %ong been .uestions 'osed to

'hi%oso'hy, and any ad-ancement, %arge or sma%%, to 'romote good nature and (i%%

through the (or%d is a 'rob%em so%-ed that is much more than sim'%y a game or thought9

'u::%e)

*o(e-er, it is understandab%e that one cou%d think that 'hi%oso'hica% 'rob%ems

are mere%y 'u::%es) Technica%%y, there is no a-oiding this thought) What is any 'rob%em

but a 'u::%e to so%-e0 To deny at a%% that 'u::%es do not e;ist in 'hi%oso'hy is to be b%ind


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to the -ery nature o& the &ie%d@ 3nder this de&inition, ho(e-er, is must a%so be granted

that anything in-o%-ing engineering, &inance, or medicine is a%so a &ie%d de&ined by

'u::%e, so that e-eryone in the (or%d (ou%d become a -ision o& >r) *ouse@

Rea%%y, though, (hat is the rea% 'oint behind arguing such things0 /t isnt as i&

de&ining 'hi%oso'hy one (ay or the other (ou%d make or break the disci'%ine) Peo'%e (i%%

a%(ays continue to study the course, be it the (ay o& 'u::%es, or the study o& rea% %i&e

issues) $rguing semantics is de&inite%y not as im'ortant as arguing most other things

cou%d be, (hether Wittgenstein thinks it is or not)

These t(o, near9o''osite indi-idua%, Po''er and Wittgenstein, e;isted together in

a re%ati-e%y c%ose area, yet they on%y e-er met on that one 'o(er&u% night (hich (i%% e-er

go &orth in mystery) We kno(, at %east, (hat they argued o-er, and (ho they are) We

can assume (hy they argued, and (hat their im'act on society &rom that argument is) /s

it rea%%y necessary to understand the -ery detai%s o& it0 $&ter a%%, its o-er &i&ty years %ater

and (ere sti%% arguing o-er (hat ha''ened there)

Works Cited

dmonds, >a- id ) Wi t tgenste in As Poker # The 4tory o & a Ten9?inute $rgument 6et(een T(o Breat Ph i % oso'hers ) 2nd) =e( ork #*ar'erCo% % ins Pub% ishers /nc ) , 2DD2) Pr in t )

74733361 Wittgenstein s Poker

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