Saturday 31 January 2009

Words

Wittgenstein said: ‘philosophy is a struggle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.’ Wouldn’t this make more sense the other way around? Intelligence is no more to be bewitched than a leg or an arm is; language is where thought is alive, and the danger is surely rather that language may fall in love with intellect. Words began as a means of communicating emotions, after all. Intellect is important, but probably shouldn't seduce language wholly away from that first love.

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