Quotation
Last reviewed:
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein · Analytic philosophy · Modern · 1953
What does it mean?
Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language. Language is how we get bewitched, not the enemy to be abolished. A rival reading hears a suspicion of words as such, an invitation to be silent in the manner of a misread Tractatus. He wants us to look at uses, not to stop speaking. Another reading thinks the battle is won by a theory of meaning. Section 109 is inside the claim that philosophy describes and does not explain in the way science explains. The battle is against a particular captivation.
Did Ludwig Wittgenstein really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Anscombe's English. Philosophy, in this remark, is the battle, not the bewitchment. Language is the means of the bewitchment. The remark is often misheard as 'language is the enemy'.
Where it comes from
Philosophical Investigations §109, in G. E. M. Anscombe's translation
Approximate date: 1953.
How to use it
A strategy document in a London office says 'alignment' so often that no one can say what would count as failing to be aligned. The bewitchment is the word doing work it cannot cash. The battle is to put the word back into a use someone could disagree with. That is a local version of the remark, not a proof that business language is his topic.
A mindset reading
Intelligence is what gets bewitched. He is not praising stupidity about language. The cure is a clearer view of how we actually talk, which takes more attention, not less.
Understand the philosophy
Section 109 also says philosophy must not interfere with the actual use of language, and that it leaves everything as it is. That neighbour is as important as the battle, and it is the part revolutionaries dislike. Read both.
- knowledge
- mind
- meaning
FAQ
What does it mean?
Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language. Language is how we get bewitched, not the enemy to be abolished. A rival reading hears a suspicion of words as such, an invitation to be silent in the manner of a misread Tractatus. He wants us to look at uses, not to stop speaking. Another reading thinks the battle is won by a theory of meaning. Section 109 is inside the claim that philosophy describes and does not explain in the way science explains. The battle is against a particular captivation.
Did Ludwig Wittgenstein really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Anscombe's English. Philosophy, in this remark, is the battle, not the bewitchment. Language is the means of the bewitchment. The remark is often misheard as 'language is the enemy'.
Which work is it in?
Philosophical Investigations §109, in G. E. M. Anscombe's translation Approximate date: 1953.