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Ludwig Wittgenstein on Philosophy

1889–1951 Austria

← All quotes by Ludwig Wittgenstein

14 quotes

The difficulty in philosophy is to say no more than we know.

The Blue Book (1931)

People are deeply imbedded in philosophical, i.e., grammatical confusions. And to free them presupposes pulling them out of the immensely manifold connections they are caught up in.

Philosophical Occasions 1912-1951 (1993)

In philosophy the race is to the one who can run slowest—the one who crosses the finish line last.

Culture and Value (1980)

Philosophy hasn't made any progress?—If someone scratches where it itches, do we have to see progress? Is it not genuine scratching otherwise, or genuine itching?

Culture and Value (1980)

The aim of philosophy is to erect a wall at the point where language stops anyway.

Philosophical Occasions 1912-1951 (1993)

Philosophy unravels the knots in our thinking; hence its results must be simple, but its activity is as complicated as the knots that it unravels.

Philosophical Occasions 1912-1951 (1993)

Philosophical problems can be compared to locks on safes, which can be opened by dialing a certain word or number, so that no force can open the door until just this word has been hit upon, and once it is hit upon any child can open it.

Philosophical Occasions 1912-1951 (1993)

Propositions show what they say: tautologies and contradictions show that they say nothing.

I think I summed up my attitude to philosophy when I said: philosophy ought really to be written only as a poetic composition.

Culture and Value (1980)

Philosophy is like trying to open a safe with a combination lock: each little adjustment of the dials seems to achieve nothing, only when everything is in place does the door open.

Personal Recollections (1981)

Philosophy may in no way interfere with the actual use of language; it can in the end only describe it.

Philosophical Investigations (1953)

So in the end when one is doing philosophy one gets to the point where one would like just to emit an inarticulate sound.

Philosophical Investigations (1953)

The real discovery is the one which enables me to stop doing philosophy when I want to. The one that gives philosophy peace, so that it is no longer tormented by questions which bring itself into question.

Philosophical Investigations (1953)

The sole remaining task for philosophy is the analysis of language.

Disputed

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Ludwig Wittgenstein (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.