Murphy, Peter (2002) The ethics of distance. Budhi: A Journal of Culture and Ideas, 6 (2/3). pp. 1-24.

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Abstract

[Extract] Worldviews

"The pianist in Wittgenstein put it well: the most important things in life lie beyond words. So let us begin by throwing away the ladder of language that we are used to standing on." Wittgenstein's other life - as an architect, engineer, and musician - conditioned him to do what philosophers often do not bother to do: which is to take seriously what is not put into words, or what lies beneath words. Wittgenstein struggled for a way of understanding the silent shape of things. Things that cannot be put into words, he remarked, manifest themselves. Wittgenstein called this process "mystical." Indeed, there is a long tradition of thinking mystically about those things that we cannot put into words. There is also another, equally strong,. tradition of thinking about such things. This is to render them in geometric, musical, and architectural forms. There is no obligation on us to choose between these ways of thinking. Indeed, at certain times, these traditions have cut across each other.

Item ID:	23403
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	0118-5942
Date Deposited:	03 Jan 2013 05:32
FoR Codes:	16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1608 Sociology > 160806 Social Theory @ 50% 20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 2002 Cultural Studies > 200204 Cultural Theory @ 50%
SEO Codes:	95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9504 Religion and Ethics > 950407 Social Ethics @ 100%
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