Electronic Theses and Dissertations

UC Riverside

Peer Reviewed

Title:
Method

Author:
Sorrell, Brian

Acceptance Date:
2010

Series:
UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Degree:
Ph.D., PhilosophyUC Riverside

Advisor(s):
Wright, Larry

Committee:
Glidden, David, Stewart, Stanley

Permalink:
http://escholarship.org/uc/item/4qk6n5mv

Abstract:

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 UNIVERSITYOFCALIFORNIA
RIVERSIDE

Method

ADissertationsubmittedinpartialsatisfaction
oftherequirementsforthedegreeof

DoctorofPhilosophy

in

Philosophy

by

BrianRobertSorrell

December2010

DissertationCommittee:
Dr.LarryWright,Chairperson
Dr.DavidGlidden
Dr.StanleyStewart
 Copyrightby
BrianRobertSorrell
2010
TheDissertationofBrianRobertSorrellisapproved:

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________
CommitteeChairperson

UniversityofCalifornia,Riverside
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Foradozenyears,LarryWrightandIhavesustainedafruitfulphilosophical

conversation.Oftentangential,sometimesirreverent,butalwaysproductive,thisworkis

theproductofthoseconversations,andwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithouthis

encouragementandinexhaustibleefforts.Icansaywithoutoverstatement:Iwillforever

begrateful.

Thoughitmightseemutterlyunrelatedtothetopicathand,DavidGlidden'sseminaron

Cicero,whichItookveryearlyoningraduateschool,resonatesthroughoutthis

dissertation.Davidcoupledanemphasisonintellectualintegritywithadeeplygenuine

concernabouthowwemightapplyancientlessonsofourdisciplineinaresponsible

fashionatthemodernacademy.ThesedecadeolddiscussionscontinuetoinspirehowI

thinkaboutphilosophyandpedagogy,andwhatcontributionsImightmaketoboth

throughmyacademicwork.

Afternumerousfalsestartsovertheyears,Idonotthinkitcoincidentalthatthisproject

reallytookoffafterImetandmarriedmysolidrockandsparkplug,TanyaRathbun

Sorrell.Sheismymostcharitablecriticandconstantcheerleader,andwithouther,I

wouldstillbecrossingoutsentencesbeforetheyevenstarted.

iv
MyfinalpushtofinishthiscamefromCharlesEdwinSorrellwhowasconceivedjust

asIwascompletingthefirstfulldraft,andwasbornjustaswewerefinishingupthefinal

revisions.Charlie,you'remyfavoritelittleactiveverb.

v
 ABSTRACTOFTHEDISSERTATION

Method

by

BrianRobertSorrell

DoctorofPhilosophy,GraduatePrograminPhilosophy
UniversityofCalifornia,Riverside,December2010
Dr.LarryWright,Chairperson

Inthisdissertation,Idescribeanddevelopaninvestigativemethodinspiredby

Wittgensteinsworks.Wittgensteinemploysamethodofexamples;hemakes

philosophicalpointsbydemonstratinghowphilosophicalpuzzlesarisefromournormal

usesofsocalledordinarylanguage.Hisexamplesareusuallysimpleones:buildersissue

commands,peoplecompareshadesofcolors,objectsaregivennames,etc.Whereas

manyphilosophersinvestigateabstractproblemsandpuzzlesthroughanalysisofexotic

counterexamples,Wittgensteinemploystangiblecasesinordertoexaminehow

problemsariseinthefirstplace.Inthebroadestofterms,thisishisphilosophical

problemsolvingmethod.Similarly,ratherthantreatageneral,abstractproblemfromthe

start,Iaddressquestionsthatarisefromrealworldsituations.Ishowhowunderstanding

largerphilosophicalproblemsascollectionsofsimplequestionshelpstocontextualize

andconsequentlybetteraddressandunderstandamorecomplexproblemathand.

vi
Thetextitselfdemonstratesthemethod,andinthissense,isanargumentinfavorof

usingitonappropriateinvestigativeoccasions.Itsunconventionalstructuredemonstrates

awaythatseemsusefultomefordevelopingourunderstandingofphilosophical

problems.Thebookintroducescertainkeyideasinthefirsthalf,graduallyusingcertain

wordsinamoreandmoreregimentedfashion.Then,inthesecondhalf,Imakeuseof

thesepreliminarydiscussionsinordertotalkaboutthesameideasmoretechnically.

Throughout,myaimistokeepmyphilosophicalmotivationsonthetext'ssurface;

keepinginmindhowphilosophicalproblemsariseisonewaytodothis,andIkeepsuch

thingsinmindbyexercisingfamiliarexamplesthroughoutthetext.Bydoingthis,Iam

abletoexamineinsightsintosomesubtleissuesinphilosophyoflanguageand

philosophyofmind,suchasmeaning,intention,andthinking.

vii
 TableofContents

Introduction..........................................................................................................................1

Structure...............................................................................................................................8

Motivation..........................................................................................................................16

Method...............................................................................................................................33

1.IntroductiontoPhilosophy.......................................................................................33

2.Practice,Performance&Motivation........................................................................39

3.Thinking...................................................................................................................46

4.Improvisation,Innovation&Intention....................................................................69

5.Practice&Constraints..............................................................................................86

6.GettingIt................................................................................................................105

7.DistinctionUponReflection..................................................................................121

8.Undoing&DevelopingHabits...............................................................................127

9.PresentTense..........................................................................................................133

10.DoubtUponReflection.........................................................................................142

11.GettingStyle..........................................................................................................150

12.LearningToPerceive............................................................................................161

13.InTheHead...........................................................................................................166

14.SelfEvaluation......................................................................................................175

15.Practice&Performance........................................................................................185

viii
 16.Philosophy.............................................................................................................193

Bibliography....................................................................................................................207

ix
 Introduction

Inthisdissertation,Iintendtodescribeandtodevelopaninvestigativemethodinspired

byWittgensteinsworks.Wittgensteinemploysamethodofexamples;hemakes

philosophicalpointsbydemonstratinghowphilosophicalpuzzlesarisefromournormal

usesofsocalledordinarylanguage.Hisexamplesareusuallysimpleones:buildersissue

commands,peoplecompareshadesofcolors,objectsaregivennames,etc.Whereas

manyphilosophersinvestigateabstractproblemsandpuzzlesthroughanalysisofexotic

counterexamples,Wittgensteinemploystangiblecasesinordertoexaminehow

problemsariseinthefirstplace.Inthebroadestofterms,thisishisphilosophical

problemsolvingmethod.

Similarly,ratherthantreatageneral,abstractproblemfromthestart,Iaddressquestions

thatarisefromrealworldsituations.Ishowhowunderstandinglargerphilosophical

problemsascollectionsofsimplequestionshelpstocontextualizeandconsequently

betteraddressandunderstandamorecomplexproblemathand.

Thetextitselfdemonstratesthemethod,andinthissense,isanargumentinfavorof

usingitonappropriatephilosophicaloccasions.Itsunconventionalstructure

demonstratesawaythatseemsusefultomefordevelopingourunderstandingof

1
philosophicalproblems.Thedissertationintroducescertainkeyideasinthefirsthalf,

graduallyusingcertainwordsinamoreandmoreregimentedfashion.Then,inthe

secondhalf,Imakeuseofthesepreliminarydiscussionsinordertotalkaboutthesame

ideasmoretechnically.Throughout,myaimistokeepmyphilosophicalmotivationson

thetext'ssurface;keepinginmindhowphilosophicalproblemsariseisonewaytodo

this,andIkeepsuchthingsinmindbyexercisingfamiliarexamplesthroughoutthetext.

Bydoingthis,Iamabletoexamineinsightsintosomesubtleissuesinphilosophyof

languageandphilosophyofmind,suchasmeaning,intention,andthinking.

Thedissertationusesordinarywordspurposefully,e.g.,get,try,do,andshows

howwemightmarshalsuchbasicnotionstoanswer,orsometimeseliminate,

complicatedphilosophicalquestions.Arudimentaryexample:ifwewanttoinvestigate

theconceptofmeaning,wetalkaboutwhatitisliketogetsomeonespoint,totryouta

suggestion(suchasfromacoachorateacher),ortouseawordinaparticularwayfora

particularpurpose.Welearnwordswhenweputwordstouse,andthissuggeststhatthe

notionofmeaningisrelatedtowhatwedowithwords.Thatis,aninterestinhowwords

worktogetherunderliesourinterestinmeaning,andsomeaningandactivitygohand

inhand.Consequently,aninvestigativemethodthatemphasizeshowweactandbehave

intheworldisappropriateforaddressingquestionsaboutsuchtopics.

2
ThroughoutthetextItestinsightsagainstrobusteverydayactivitiesratherthanwholly

imaginedpossibleworldsorexoticcounterexamples.Whenaninsightmakessenseof

thereallifecasesthatgenerateit,webothconstructargumentsinitsfavor,andgaina

betterunderstandingofwhenandhowthatparticularinsightmightbehelpful.Recurring

examplesinclude:playingtennis,playingpiano,tellingjokes,andridingabicycle.Itry

todescribeawiderangeofactivitiesinordertohelpuscometounderstandhowwelearn

particularconceptslikeriding,playing,andtelling.Howwecometolearn

theseseeminglysimplenotionsisamodelforhowwecometounderstandmoreabstract

(andpossiblymorecomplex)notions,suchasthinking,meaningandeven

philosophyitself.Generally,Iwillarguethattoinvestigateandtowriteabout

oursubtleunderstandingofeverydayactivitiesisoneveryproductivewaytodo

philosophy.

AllofthisisconsistentwithWittgensteinsinvestigativestyleinthathisphilosophical

methodinvolvesdoingmanythingsintheworld,and,moreorless,reportingonthose

things.Hisexamplesareoftenstoriesaboutphysicalacts:thebuildercommandsslab,

webestownamesuponobjectslikeExcalibur,orwefollowaninstructiontopickred

applesfromapile.Heusesthesesortsofexamplestodeveloppointsaboutmeaning,

rules,intentions,mentalimages,andsoforth,andIaimtoaccomplishsimilarends.

3
Wittgensteininspiresthetext;itisnotabouthim.Idonotintendforthisworktobean

interpretationofhisphilosophicalwork.Rather,Iintendittobeausefulapplicationof

whatItaketobehisphilosophicalmethodasappliedtothinking,generally,and

philosophymorespecifically.

Philosophy,asIthinkofit,comesfromtheworld;onemightcallitapublicdiscipline.

Thephilosopherharvestshistopicsandargumentsintheworld,andsothoughtful

engagementwiththeworldisonekeytoaphilosopher'ssuccess.Aconsequenceofthis

perspectiveisthatIdeliberatelyuseactiveverbs.Thismightgivethetextanunfamiliar

feel,stylistically;itmightevenfeellikeitisnotaphilosophicaltextfromtimetotime.

Butbytheend,itshouldbeclearthatourinvestigationhasyieldedusefulresults,ifIam

successful.

Sincetheessayisnotaboutaparticularphilosopher,Idonotintendtoleanheavilyon

textualextractionsfromphilosophicalworksorfromsecondaryliteraturesthathave

developedinresponsetoparticularphilosophersworks.However,Idousetextual

extractionsintwoways.First,Ifootnotepassagesthatinspirekeyideas.Mytextnever

simplyinterpretsapassage,butratherexpandsonwhatlessonsIhavetakenfromit.

Footnotescataloginfluences.Second,Iusesomeextendedextractionsfromworkssuch

asWittgensteinsPhilosophicalInvestigations,BlueBook,andZettel,aswellasGilbert

RylesTheConceptofMind,andRayMonksTheDutyofGenius.Theextractions

4
shoulddemonstrate,albeitonlyroughly,howotherphilosophershavetreatedsimilar

themesaspointsofcomparisonwiththevocabularythatIdevelop.Itaketheextractions

tobecompatiblewithwhatIwrite,andItrytocontextualizetheextractionstoshowthat

compatibility.

ThisalsoshowshowthephilosophicalmethodIrecommendworks:ratherthanstartwith

anextractionandtrytointerpretitasathesis,thendefendit,orrefuteit,Ideveloptheses

andvocabularyandshowcongenialitytoothers'similarthesesandvocabularies.

Importantly,thisshowswhatIconsidertobeusefulapplicationsofothersphilosophical

thoughts.ThisisalsoafeatureoftheinvestigativemethodIdevelop:Iarguethatwe

developourownideasbyobservinghowothersdevelopsimilarideas,thenweexercise

ourownskillsbywritingstylizedversionsofthosesimilarideas.

Allofthisemphasizesskillbuilding.Theprocessofwriting,andrelatedlytheprocessof

philosophizing,canbecharacterizedastryingthingsout.Butnotjustanything.Part

ofourtraininginphilosophyistolearntheconstraintsofthediscipline,whichisalsoto

learnwhatthedisciplineisaboutandhowwegoaboutdoingphilosophicalwork.This

textexemplifiesandtriestodescribeboth.

Novicestudentsdonotenteraclassroomorpickupaphilosophicaltextalreadyknowing

whatcountsasaphilosophicaltopic,argument,concept,etc.Often,instructorsassigna

5
reading(orsomerelatedtask),inparttodevelopastudent'ssenseofwhatphilosophical

worklookslike.Butrarelydophilosophersevertrytosaywhatmotivatesthemtopick

outandinvestigatethephenomenaandsituationstheyencounterintheworld.

Forexample,ethiciststalkabouttheftandpromises,butrarelywouldtheytalkabout

peelingbananasorsharpeningpencils.Inanethicsinvestigation,keepingthe

investigation'smotivationsonthesurfacehelpstokeeptheteachingphilosopherontask,

andhelpsthestudentlearntoconnectthisstyleofinvestigationtotheworld.Exercising

ourskillsatidentifyingtangible,workingcasesaccomplishesthisend.Similarly,

Logicianstalkaboutthestructuresofarguments,butrarelyofthestructureofbuildings

orofDNA.Philosophersofsciencetalkabouthowwesearchforverificationof

hypotheses,butrarelyhowwesearchformissingsocks.Studentsgenerallypickupon

whatcountsasdoingthisorthatbyhavingbeentoldthattheyaredoingthisorthat,and

soratherthanusingfabricated,abstractcasesasmodelsoftheworld(forexample,

TrolleyProblems),Iadvocateusingreportsofactivitiesthatweactuallyengagein,both

asteachingtools,andwheninvestigatingphilosophicalnotionsonourown.Inthisway,

thistexttriestotalkaboutwhatcountsasphilosophicalthinkinginordertomake

somesenseofwhatphilosophersdo,andallwiththeintentionofimprovingthatskill.

Thisinitselfisaphilosophicalpursuit.

6
Furthermore,beyondtheskillofdistinguishingaphilosophicaltopic,thereistheskillof

producingphilosophicalworkstheskillofdoingphilosophy.Certainkindsofwriting,

teaching,debating,classifying,thinking,etc.countasphilosophicalpursuits,andifwe

aimtoimproveourphilosophicalskills,thenourabilitytocommunicatewhatwedo

whenwedophilosophyneedsexercise.Toaccomplishthiskindofimprovement,we

needastrategy.Thistextdevelopsandimplementsonesuchstrategylargelyby

contrastingitwithanuncodifiedyetpervasivepedagogicmethodthatIwillcallquote

andinterpret,whereinthephilosophertendstofocushiseffortsoncriticismandanalysis

overoriginalproductionanddevelopment.

Consequently,thedissertationhasanovelstructure.Itisnottheusualstatementof

problem,surveyofexistingliterature,andrecommendedsolution.Itoffersawayto

investigateandtalkaboutphilosophicalproblemsatechniquethatIwillcall

statementandelaboration.Thereareatleasttwobenefitstothis.First,itsuggestsan

innovativephilosophicaltechniquethatprofessionalphilosophersmightemployinorder

toimproveupontheirownworks.Second,itsuggestsateachingtechniquethatwill

benefitstudents,helpingthemtoenhancetheirwritingandthinkingskills.Thesecond

point,inmyopinion,isanidealstartingpointformyfutureworkinthediscipline.

7
 Structure

ThistextbeganasanarrangementofparagraphtopagelongreflectionsonwhatItaketo

berelatedphilosophicaltopics.Intheprocessofarrangingthesesections,Irecognized

thattheremarksseemedtofollowapattern:whatIputfirstwascloselyconnectedto

whatIputlast;whatIputsecondwascloselyconnectedtowhatIputsecondtolast;and

soon.Itoccurredtomethatsuchastructurecanbehelpful,forofteninphilosophical

worksweapologizeforexclusionsduetospaceortimeconstraints,andpromisetoget

backtoexcludedorcondensedtopicslaterinthetext,aftermorehasbeensaid.This,to

me,oftensoundslikeanapologyforatext'sstructure.Soinsteadofforcingthesections

intoaformaboutwhichIwouldfeelaneedtoapologize,Iembracewhatseemslikea

morenaturalstructureonethatwillhelpthereaderalongbyemphasizingand

introducingkeyphilosophicalconceptsatthebeginning,thenelaboratingontheir

significanceandconnectionstooneanotherattheend.

Irealizethatthestructureislikelyunfamiliartomostreaders,butIamconfidentthatif

thereaderkeepstheseintroductoryremarksinmindplusahealthydoseofcharity

thepayoffisatechnicalinnovationworthapplyingtoavarietyofrelatedinvestigations.

8
1,16:

Thefirstsection,IntroductiontoPhilosophy,framesthesortofquestionsthatwill

interestusinthisinvestigation:Whatcountsasthinking?Howdoweevaluate

whethersomeonehasaconcept?Howdoweevaluatewhethersomeonehasimproveda

skill?Whatkindsofquestionsinterestphilosophers?Thelistcouldgoonandon.The

finalsection,Philosophy,suggestspossibleresponsestothesequestions,including

whensuchresponsesandinvestigationsareappropriate.Mygoalisnottosayonceand

forallwhatthedisciplineis;rather,thegoalistoexerciseourcompetenceatidentifying

whatcountsasphilosophicalinvestigation,analysis,writing,andsoforth.Atthesame

time,thegoalistodevelopavocabularythatwecanusetointroducePhilosophyto

novices,totalkmoreclearlyaboutourdisciplinetoeachother,andtoexerciseourown

skillsatdoingphilosophicalwork.

2,15:

Thesecondsection,Practice,Performance&Motivation,introducessomeofthemain

examplesthatwewillpursueinthetext:playingpiano,writingessays,improvingathletic

skills,andtellingjokes.Importantly,ourinteresthereisinactivitieswhereweaimto

improveuponaskill,whichdiffersfromothersortsofactivities,likebikingtothestore

asopposedtotrainingforatriathlon,ortellingajoketoagroupoffriendsasopposedto

developingastandupact.Thissetsupthenexttolastsection,Practicevs.

9
Performance.Bythispoint,wewillhavedevelopedavocabularythatwecanusetotalk

abouthowwedifferentiatebetweenwhensomeonepracticesandwhensomeone

performs.Welearntoidentifysubtledifferencesinwhatsometimesappeartobethe

sameactivitieswegetthedifferences,eventhoughwemightneversayorexplain

whatthosedifferencesare.

3,14:

Thethirdsection,Thinking,developsaconnectionbetweenphilosophicalinquiryand

whatwecallthinking.Herewestudywhatthinkingisbyconsideringactivities

especiallyphysicalorworldlyactivitiesthatareobviouslyinvolveourhaving

thoughts.Thesectionillustratesacentralthemeofthetext:thatwebuildupconceptsby

showingwhatsortsofthingsgotogether(whenteaching)orbytryingoutavarietyof

activities(whenlearning),andsowepaymuchattentiontowhatwecalltrying.Also,

Thinkinghelpstoestablishaspecializedwaytousethewordconcept,often

employedasatechnicalterminphilosophy,andthiswillhelpusmakesenseofSelf

Evaluation.InSelfEvaluationweinvestigateinmoredetailwhatitisliketolearn

criteriaforwhatcountsasaparticularactivitylikeplaying(e.g.,gamesormusic),

thinking(e.g.,philosophically),andacting(e.g.,intheater).Selfevaluationisaspecific

kindofthinkingandsoItreatthetwosimilarly.Selfevaluationandthinkingarenot

activitieshiddeninourheadstheyhappenanddevelopintheworld.Onemightsay

thatintheheadispartofintheworld,orthatintheworldsubsumesinthehead.

10
Whathappensinourheads,Itrytoshow,shouldbenomoremysteriousthanwhatwe

noticeandtalkaboutintheworld.

4,13:

Thefourthsection,Improvisation,Innovation&Intention,introducesguidedtrialand

errorasalearningtoolthroughsuchexamplesasimprovisationalactingandrecording

spokenwordperformances.Whenweimprovise,wetryoutnewideasonthespot,we

inventdialogueandtechniques,andasweevaluatetheeffectivenessofwhatwetry,we

sharpenourperformanceskills.Thisresembleswhatdetectivesdowhentheyinvestigate

andexplainmysteriesanddetectiveworkresembleswhatphilosophersdoaswell.

Detectivesandphilosopherscollectdataandideasandworkoutstoriesthattellhowthe

dataandideasfittogether.ThissectionsetsupInTheHead,whichaddressescertain

concernsthatarisewhenwetrytocharacterizeaperformersintentions,orwhenwe

measureastudentsprogress,orourownprogressortoputitgenerally,whenwetry

toevaluateactionsandideas.Activitieslikecalculatingandidentifyingcolorsmight

appeartohappenonlymentallyorsilentlyortoourselves.Herethegoalistoshowthat

abstractverbs,likecalculating,identifying,picturing,getting,arguing,having,playing,

andahostofothersdescribe,orstandfor,bundlesofactivitiesthatwelearnintheworld.

Welearnthatthisandthatsortofactivityshouldgotogether,andwelearnthestandards

thatwecanusetoevaluatewhetheraperformancewentwellorwhetheritwentpoorly.

Here,verbsarethestarsoftheshow.

11
5,12:

Thefifthsection,Practice&Constraintsinvestigatesthecompetencesthatinfluence

ourtryingtoimproveaskill.Thesethingsincludehowwellwerecognizeanddealwith

theconstraintsofthemediuminwhichwepractice,theextenttowhichwegraspwhat

countsasimproving,andhowweevaluateourownprogress.Amaingoalistoconnect

gettingwithconcepts,technicaltermsthatwedevelopthroughoutthetext,andwhich

wewilladdressofteninthefinalsectionsofthework.ThissectionsetsupLearningTo

Perceive,inwhichweinvestigatewhatitisliketogetwhatisgoingoninanactivity

withwhichwearenotfamiliar;wemightthinkofgetasasubsetofunderstandin

thatgetofteninvolvesnearlyautomaticresponsestoworldlyphenomenaratherthan

reasonedoutones.Tennisisthemainexample.Whenwelearntowatchtennis,we

simultaneouslylearnhowtousethewordsplay,spin,backhand,serve,andso

forth.Learningtousewordsthatdescribeanactivityistolearnabouttheactivity,andin

somecasesespeciallyforthinkingandphilosophizingitistoengageinthe

activityaswell.Aswegetbetteratwatchingtennisaswegetbetteratidentifyingthe

subtletiesofaplayersforehand,forexamplewelearntoidentifydifferentstylesof

play.Style,getting,playing,andsoon,areaspectsofactivitiesthatwegetwhenwe

learntoconsiderbundlesofactivitiespurposefully.This,Iargue,ishowwelearn

conceptssuchasthinking,playing,joking,songs,sports,andmostimportantlyhere,

philosophy.

12
6,11:

Thesixthsection,GettingIt,employsawiderangeofexamplesinordertodemonstrate

someofthesubtletiesofhumancommunication.Tellingjokes,coaching,givingthe

meaningsofwords,andfollowingandinterpretingsheetmusicallhelptoshowhow

muchwemusthaveincommonlinguisticallyandculturallybeforewecanbeginto

evaluateskillsordevelopnewonestogether.Thissetsup'Getting'Style,which

investigatesthecomplicationsofgoingontogether.Weexamineparallelsbetween

philosophicalandmusicalinstruction,andtheimportanceofateacherandstudent

sharingintentions.Bythispointinthetextweareabletoexamineintentionasan

aspectofactions,alwaysunderstoodagainstabackdropofhumanpurposes,ratherthan

asmotivationthatmightbetreatedseparatelyfromactionsorpurposes.

7,10:

Theseventhsection,DistinctionUponReflection,emphasizeshowourhuman

purposesarecloselytiedtothewaywetalkaboutfamiliaractivities.Westartwiththe

exampleofwalking,whichisnotusuallysomethingthatwedescribeasacombination

ofdifferentactions,suchasmovingone'sarmsandlegswhilemovingforward.That

weusuallysimplyusethewordwalkinghelpstomakeapointabouthowwelearn

concepts,andmoreover,weonlyraisequestionsaboutconceptsinappropriatesituations.

Atacomedyshow,forexample,wedonottypicallyraisequestionsaboutthenatureof

13
jokes,oraboutthemotivationsforlaughter.Atatennismatchwedonotwonderwhythe

opponentsstriketheballwiththeracketinsteadofthrowingitbackandforthoverthe

net.Talkingaboutaspectsofconceptscanmisleadusintothinkingthatconceptsare

thingsthatwecanbreakintocomponents,andthatwecanalwaysmeaningfullytalk

aboutthosepartsseparatelyfromtheothers,orevenfromtheoriginalconcept.Thepoint

hereistheopposite:webuildupconceptsbylearninghowtotalkabouthumanactivities,

whichisoftenalsotoparticipateintheseactivities(especiallyinphilosophicalwork).

ThissetsupDoubtUponReflection,whereweemphasizehowmuchwemusthavein

commonbeforedoubtingevenmakessense.Wedonothavedoubtsaboutthethoughts

andactionsofcatsanddogsandrobots,forexample,andthisisobvious.Doubtingrelies

heavilyonagreement,sharedintentionsandexpectations,andwhatwegenerallycall

goingontogether.Allofthisbeginstosuggesthowwecometounderstand

meaning,evaluation,expectation,andahostofotherabstractionsthateventually

willhelpustounderstandphilosophy.

8,9:

Theeighthsection,Undoing&DevelopingHabits,startswithanextendedexampleof

learningtorideaspecialkindofbicycleonwhichyoucannotcoast.Formostofus,to

notcoastonabicyclerunscountertoourcyclinghabits,andsotorideanoncoasting

bicycletodevelopthisnewridingskillweneedtoundocertainhabits.Thisis

partlyametaphorforhowthephilosophicalmethoddevelopedherecanhelp

14
philosophersuseanordinaryvocabularytoclarifyextraordinary,technicalvocabularies.

Philosophersoftendevelopthinkinghabits,suchasinvokingtheoreticalmachineryto

teachandtodevelopideasaboutsuchtopicsasethics,aesthetics,justice,andimportantly

inthistextmeaningweinvestigatewhatitisliketodevelopsuchhabits.Thissection

dovetailswithPresentTense,wherewetrytodeveloptechniquestotalkabout

evaluatingandimprovingourinthemomentskills.Evaluationisapasttenseexercise;it

isreflectiveinawaythatperformanceisnot.Yet,weexpectthattrainingandevaluation

willimproveourinthemomentperformances,andtoinvestigatethispointistosuggest

directionsforhowwemightdevelopeffectivetrainingtechniques.Todoallofthisisto

developaphilosophical,investigativemethod.

15
 Motivation

Justaspunchlinesarenotfunnywithoutjokesattached,ashortparaphrasecouldnotsum

upthistext'spurposewithouttheinvestigationthatfollows.Asafirsttry,wemightsay

thatwhatfollowscutsacrossawiderangeofphilosophicaldiscussionstoshowthatwe

shouldthinkofphilosophyasahandsonactivity.Incontrasttoafamiliarimageofa

philosopherwithhisheadintheclouds,Ipicturephilosopherswiththeirproverbialfeet

ontheground.Thoughphilosophersaddressabstracttopicsintheirwrittenandspoken

works,theylearn,teach,andthinkaboutabstractionsintangible,activeways.Andto

describewhatphilosophersdoandhowtheydoitistodescribeaninvestigativemethod.

Thistextdescribes,develops,andimplementsaparticularphilosophicalmethod.I

deliberatelystructuredthetexttoshowhowtousethemethodbydevelopingpicturesof

itinaction.Roughlyspeaking,hereIfirstintroduceatechnicalvocabulary,thenusethat

vocabularyinaprogressivelyspecializedmanner,which,bytheendofthetext,helpsus

tosaysomethingaboutphilosophicalinquiry.Theshapeofthetextissortofcircular,

wherethefirstsectionforeshadowsthelast,thesecondsectionpredictsthepenultimate,

thethirdsuggeststhethirdtolast,andsoon.Thevalueofthisstructureshouldbecome

clearerasweproceed,andbytheendoftheinvestigation,theshapeofthetextshould

seemessentialtoitssuccess.

16
Also,ourinterestisintraining,andwritingisanindispensablepartofaneffective

philosophicaltrainingregimen.Thistextanyphilosophicaltexts,Iwillargue

resultsfromsuchexercise.Itsshapearoseseeminglynaturallyduringalengthyrevision

process,andafterconsiderableexperimentationwithhowtobestargueitspoints.

Writingtrainsthewriter,andifatthesametimethiswrittenworkinspiresorinfluences

thereaderpositively,thenitwillhaveachievedatleasttwoends.

Inaninvestigationofthisbroadtopic,wemightaskquestionsofthefollowingforms:

Whatisitthatwedowhenwephilosophize?Whatmakesinquiryphilosophical?What

isthepurposeofphilosophicalinquiry?Howcanweimproveourphilosophicalthinking

andwritingskills?

Saidthisway,thegoalmightsoundoverlyambitious.Teaching,writing,andlearning

methodsarenotthesortsofthingsthatphilosophersusuallywriteaboutatall,letalone

expecttosettleoninoneworkorevenoverthecourseofalongandreflective

intellectuallife.SohereIdarenotimaginethatanysuchsettlingwilloccur.Rather,I

hopetosaysomethingusefulaboutaparticular,practicalinvestigativemethod,whileat

thesametimeusingthatmethodtocreatethiswork.Iofferthistextasamodelofone

philosophicalmethod.

17
 *

IneachofthepairedsectionsthatmakeupMethod,thelatersectiondeliberatelyuses

thevocabularyoftheearliersectioninasomewhatmoretechnicalwaymoretechnical

ifonlybecausethereaderhasalreadyreadtherelatedsectiononce.Thisisnotan

apologyforsloppinessatthebeginning.Onthecontrary,astrainedphilosophers,itis

oftendifficulttoresistusingourdaytodayvocabularyintechnicalways.Ourchallenge

hereistoletourwordsdowhattheyordinarilydo,andtoshowhowordinaryuses

becometechnicaluses.Forexample,totalkaboutaconceptoranintentionwithout

invokingthemachineryofPhilosophyofMindisachallengeinitselfforthosesteeped

inparticularphilosophicaltraditions.

Also,itisachallengetoresistlettingestablishedanalysesofwellvettedargumentsand

positionsstandinfordevelopingfreshversionsofthoseargumentsandpositions.

ThoughLudwigWittgensteinswritingsinfluencethistextheavily,Ineverusehis

technicaltermsincludingformoflife,familyresemblance,andespeciallythe

ubiquitouslanguagegame.Theexercisehereistocreateatechnicalvocabularyrather

thantoassumeanduseonethatmightnotfitwellwithmypurposes.Saiddifferently:

thisisnotanexegeticaltextsomuchasitisarecordofusefulphilosophicalexercises

influencedbyaspecificbodyofphilosophicalworks.

18
HereIemphasizeexamples:actors,comedians,tennisplayers,bicyclists,writers,

musicians,andphilosophystudentspopulatethetext.Eachoftheseisacharacterof

sorts,andintheinterestofconsistency,certainofthecharactersareheandcertain

othersshe,dependingentirelyuponwhoinfluencedtheexamplesasIwrotethem.

Sincetheexamplesinthetextareessentiallycharacters,andsincecharacterstypically

developinastory,itisreasonabletoexpecttheexamplestodevelopsimilarlyoverthe

courseofourinvestigation.Areadermightconsiderthepacingofthestoryandthe

treatmentoftheexamplessimilartothepacingandtreatmentofstoryandcharactersin

films,novels,ortheater.Onemightevenbeinclinedtofollowastoryarcinthistext:

aftersufficientintroduction,theexamplesdevelopandinteractwithoneanother,the

readerinteractswiththeexampleswhichispartlywhatmakesthisaphilosophicaltext

andthefinalsectiondescribeshowwegotfromIntroductiontoPhilosophyto

Philosophy.Thestorymetaphorsuggestshowthephilosophicalmethodemployed

hereworks1.

Thewordmethodplaysmorethanoneroleinthistext.Philosopherswrite,teach,learn,

debate,developideas,organizethoughts,andsoforth,andsoourtalkabouttheir

methodsintersectswithatleasttheseactivities.Sometimesmethodisamodelthatwe

usetoorganizeouractivitiesmethodcanworkasanabstractnoun.Sometimes

1
Cf.PI593:Amaincauseofphilosophicaldiseaseaonesideddiet:onenourishesone's
thinkingwithonlyonekindofexample.

19
methodisalooselygroupedfamilyofactivitiesinwhichweparticipatewhenwe

practicephilosophymethodcanbeshorthandforacollectionofactiveverbs.

Similarly,practicedoesatleastdoubleduty.Asanoun,thewordpracticecomprises

thevariousactivities,methodsortechniquesthatphilosophersemployintheirwork.At

thesametime,philosopherspracticetheirteachingandtheirwritingskills.Theyengage

withstudents,usewordsandideas,andinteractwiththeworldindeliberate,purposeful

wayspracticealsoactsasaverb.Asphilosopherspracticetheircraft,theyimprove

specificverbalskills,thinkingskills,communicationskillsandsoon.

Oneonlyimprovesuponaskillwhensufficientlymotivatedtodoso.Wecancontrast

thiswithsimplyexercisingaskill,suchaswritingaquicknotetoafriend,asopposedto

penninganovel.Hereweareinterestedinmethodsthatphilosophersemploywhenthey

aremotivatedtoimproveuponskillsliketeaching,writingandlearning.

Investigativemethods,particularlyinphilosophy,developovergenerationsfrom

Plato'sdialogues,toAristotle'streatises,toDescartes'meditations,toKant'scritiques,to

Wittgenstein'sinvestigations.Theirsandmanyothershaverichhistoriesallworth

reportingonanddevelopingfurtherlikeIdohere.Giventhisbroadrangeofapproaches

20
tophilosophicalinquiry,IhopethattalkingaboutwhatitisliketodophilosophyasI

advocatewillinspirediscussionsaboutandusesofalternativeinvestigativemethodsfrom

whichstudentsofmanydisciplinesmightprofit.

Manyphilosophers'methodsfollowtheformofdivideandconquer.Theyoften

investigatephenomenalikethinking,meaning,intending,morality,freedom,etc.by

attemptingtoshowhowthephenomenabreakdownintoparts,suchaspropositions,

objects,andrules.Ratherthandeconstructcomplicatedphenomena,themethodI

advocateherebuildsupcomplexabstractionsfromsimpledescriptionsofseemingly

mundaneactivities.

Myapproachtophilosophicalinvestigationisperhapsunfamiliartophilosopherswith

certainprofessionalsympathiesandintellectualinvestments.Philosophersoftenusea

quoteandinterpret,topdowninvestigativestyle.Theyoftenstartwithaconceptoran

expressionofanidea,researchavarietyofphilosophicaltreatmentsofsimilarideas,

extractselectionsfromthosetreatments(quote),thencriticizeorexpanduponthe

previouswork(interpret).Intheend,newphilosophicalideasdevelopfromanalysesof

extantideas.Philosopherstendtoextractaspectsofaphilosophicalthesis,critically

evaluatethataspectofthethesisorpointoutitsproblemsshoreupthearguments,

polishit,andpublishit.Thisisacaricatureofacommoninvestigativemethod,perhaps

renderedtoouncharitablyforsometastesandperhapsnophilosopherrecognizes

21
himselfinthecaricature.ButIaimonlytodescribeaclearcontrasttothemethodthatI

wishtodevelophere.

Myapproachtophilosophicalinvestigationissomethinglikestatementand

elaboration,whichIseeasabottomupstyle.Iamcuriousabouthowwecomeupwith

ourideas,expressions,andexplanationswhenweteach,learn,andresearchphilosophical

topics.Here,Iaimtoshowawaytothinkaboutourwordsandourworldbystarting

withsimpleexamplesofwordsandideasinaction.ThenIelaborateonthoseexamples

inanefforttoshowhowcomplexideasmightarisefromsimplerones.Forexample,if

wehaveaninterestinthenotionofplaying,wemightenumerateandinvestigate

examplesofwhatwecallplaying.Wemakestatementsaboutwhatactivitiescountas

playing,thenelaborateonthosestatementsbydescribingthoseactivitiesinmoreand

moredetail.Asweinvestigateinthisway,wedeveloparicher,perhapsmoretechnical,

vocabulary.Thisexerciseservesatleasttwopurposes:wegaininsightsintothenotion

underinvestigation,andaswerefinehowwetalkaboutwhatweinvestigate,weget

betteratdoingwhatweinvestigate.Thisessayservestwosimilarpurposes:toreveal

insightsintowhatwecallphilosophy,andatthesametime,toimproveuponour

performanceofphilosophicalinvestigations.2

2
ThisisalsoanargumentinfavorofviewingWittgenstein'sPhilosophicalInvestigationsas
accomplishingthesameends.

22
Iamconfidentthatthiscanbeaconstructiveexerciseandthatthisisanindispensable

modelofhowtodophilosophy.Itisalottotry,andIcannotsayallatoncehowthe

methodworks;thewholetextismyattempttodoso.Considerthisapleaforcharity.

Onemightreasonablywonder:whybothertalkingaboutapluralityofinvestigativeor

philosophicalmethods?Shortanswer:becausethesortofintroductiontophilosophy

oftenpracticedinacademicenvironmentshardlycountsasdoingphilosophy,andthings

neednotbethisway.Weservestudentsbetterwhenwechallengethemtoparticipate

fullyinphilosophicalinvestigationsfromthebeginning.

Atthesametime,weasphilosopherscansharpenourthinkingskillssignificantlywhen

weworktointroducephilosophicalideasinwaysthatnovicephilosophersandstudents

canfollow(orget)regardlessoftheirintellectualbackgrounds.Wecanandshouldinsist

thatnovicephilosophicalworkbelegitimatephilosophicalworkjustasinan

introductoryphysicslabwherestudentsexperimentfromthestart,andjustasina

physicaleducationclasswherestudentsplaysportswhentheyfirsttakethefield.Wedo

nottellphysicsstudentsthatintroductorylaboratoryexperimentsarenotreallywhatitis

liketoexperiment;similarly,weshouldintroducephilosophywiththeattitudethat

introductorystudentsarereallyphilosophizing.

23
Againincaricature,anordinaryintroductiontophilosophyasadisciplineusually

involvesextractingreadingsfromseminalworks,dumbingthemdown,andoccasionally

askingstudentstomakesenseoftheseseeminglyobscureandinaccessiblediscussions.

Studentsoftendisinterestedlyexpressthisintheformofexamessays.Fewprofessors

wouldlikelycallthisintroductoryactivitydoingphilosophy,thoughitisthepervasive

modelofthedisciplinetowhichmanyfirstexposetheirstudents.

Thisresemblesquoteandinterpretcaricaturedabove.Ofteninintroductoryclasses,

professorsstatewhatabstracttopictheywilltreat,forexampleethics,thensetstudents

looseonaclassictext,likeMill'sUtilitarianism.Oraprofessormightpreferto

introduceskepticismviaDescartes'Meditations.Ineithercase,theapproachisthe

same:hereisaproblem,andhereisatextthattriestoaddress(orsolve)theproblem,

oftenwithlittleregardfortheexplicitlymethodologicalconsiderationsthatinformsuch

majorworks.

Nextwetypicallyaskstudentstoanswerquestionsaboutthetexts,possiblychallenging

themtofindflawswiththearguments,ortodevelopargumentsthatuselessonsfromthe

workunderstudy.Ifaprofessorexpectsastudenttowriteanessay,hewillonlyonrare

occasionsprovideguidanceabouthowtowriteaphilosophicalessay.Furthermore,and

confusingly,ifastudentstructuredhisessayabout,say,Descartes'Meditationslikethe

24
textitself,theessaywouldverylikelybedeemedafailure.Allofthisistosaythat

introductoryclassesoftentaketheformofquoteandinterpret,writlarge,andrarely

includeconcreteguidanceabouthowtosuccessfullyemployphilosophical,investigative

methods.Again,itmightbethatnoprofessorwillseeshadesofhisownteachingstylein

thiscaricature,butdoubtlessmostwillagreethatatleastcertainaspectsofthepicture

capturesomeofthecurrentrealitiesofintroductoryinstruction.

Afterseeminglysuccessfulintroductionstothediscipline,studentsrefinetheir

investigativemethods,likelyincludingcloserattentiontoparticularreadings,and

discussionsaboutlargerportionsofphilosophicalworks.Theymightalsobegintoread

secondaryinterpretationsofprimaryworks,usingthoseasmodelsofhowtodo

philosophy.Theytypicallydevelopaffinitiesforparticularinterpretationsofpopular

works,andtheymaybegintodeveloptheirowninterpretationsofthoseworks.These

studentsaresortofdoingphilosophy,wemightthink.

Shouldastudentdevelopasufficientlyinnovativeinterpretationofaclassicphilosophical

textortopic,thatstudentmightwriteuptheresultslikelyusingthenowfamiliar

quoteandinterpretstyleofinvestigation,includingasurveyoftheliteratureand

attainahigheracademicdegree.Thisentitlesthestudent,nowaprofessional

philosopher,toworkwithstudentsnewtothediscipline,andtoprovidethemwitha

similarphilosophicalmodel,whichtheymighteasilymistakeforphilosophyitself.

25
Giventhesepropercredentials,theprofessionalphilosopherwillbeginpublishingarticles

andwillhaveestablishedhimselfasacontributortothediscipline.

Incontrast,andtocaricaturemyownview,hereIargueinfavorofaphilosophical

methodthat,ifemployedwell,getsstudentstodophilosophyfromdayone.Thatis,I

recommendanalterationtohowsomephilosophersviewthetraditionbydescribinga

particularwaytothinkaboutandtalkaboutphilosophythatisstillaclearlyidentifiable

partofthediscipline.Ratherthanstartwithanabstractconcept,likemeaning,or

skepticismandtrytodeconstructit,orbreakitintoparts,westartourinvestigationsby

enumeratingsituationswherethenotioninquestionarises.Forexample,meaning

ariseswhenwedonotknowhowtouseaword(whatdoesthiswordmean?),orwhenwe

talkaboutwhyaneventhappensthewaythatitdoes(whatisthemeaningofthis?),or

whenwearecuriousaboutthesignificanceofawordoraction(whatdidhemeanby

that?).Essentially,Iadvocateinvestigatingabstractconceptsbyshowinghowwelearn

toidentifytheconceptintheworld.

Theobjectofthistext'sinvestigationis,generally,philosophyorwhatsortsof

argumentsandinvestigationscountasphilosophical.Aphilosophicalinvestigation

intophilosophywillinevitablyraisetangential,butinterestingandhelpful,

investigationsintoawiderangeofabstractactivities,likethinking,intending,meaning,

doubting,perceiving,trying,andimportantlygetting.Webuildourcompetenceat

26
identifyingwhatcountsasphilosophybynoticingthewaysinwhichtangible

descriptionsoftheseseeminglyintangibleactivitiesintersect.Atthesametimewe

exerciseourskillsatevaluatingtheusefulnessandthepurposeofphilosophical

ruminations.

Somemightbetemptedtocallthismetaphilosophy.Butthiswouldsuggestthatwe

useavocabularyorinvestigativemethodthatisbeyondphilosophyitself.Thisisnot

whatIaimtodo.Ifanything,thisisphilosophyofphilosophy3.Thisisawaytotalk

abouthowwedophilosophy;itisawaytotalkaboutphilosophicalmethodsparallelto

howphilosophersofsciencetalkaboutscienceorhowphilosophersoflanguagetalk

aboutlanguage.Theoddity,orthenovelty,ofthistextisthatitisoftenitsownobjectof

study4.

MyinspirationinthispursuitisWittgenstein,whosemethods,style,andsuggestions

mightbeseenasrejectionsofthequoteandinterpretmodelofphilosophicalinquiry

caricaturedabove.Mytakeonhisworkandhowtoapplyitisoftenatoddswiththe

3
Cf.PI,121:Onemightthink:ifphilosophyspeaksoftheuseoftheword'philosophy'theremustbea
secondorderphilosophy.Butitisnotso:itis,ratherlikethecaseoforthography,whichdealswiththe
word'orthography'amongotherswithoutthenbeingsecondorder.
4
Thispointwillrecurofteninthetext,particularlyinSelfEvaluation,inspiredlargelyby
Wittgenstein'sBlueBook,pp78.

27
secondaryliteraturethathasgrownoutofhiswritings:thisspecializedliteratureseems

tofollowitsownpeculiarphilosophicalmodelamodelthatisoftenintensionwith

Wittgenstein's.MyworkpayscloseattentiontoWittgenstein'smethodsinawaythat

manycontemporarycommentatorsdonot.Inmyestimation,manysecondary

interpretationsofhisworksareconsequentlylimitedintheirscope,andhinderedbyan

absenceofsensitivitytostyleandform.

OnemightwonderwhyIdonotaddressthissecondaryliteraturecriticallywhynot

applymymethodtothesameproblemsaddressedintheliteraturetoshowthatmy

preferredmethodisactuallypreferable?Foronething,mostsecondaryworksareabout

Wittgenstein'sphilosophy,whereashisinvestigationsinspirethistext.Thephilosophical

examplesthatIuseinthetextservetoshowhowcertainideasandquestionsariseinthe

discipline,andcomingtounderstandhowphilosophicalpuzzlesariseispartofour

training.Giventhispurpose,Iaimneithertoproducedefinitiveanalysesofisolated

textualextractions,nortodeveloptheoriesaboutphilosophicaltopicslikemeaning,

freedom,justiceandsoforth.Mypurposesaresodistinctfromthoseofthe

secondaryliteraturethataddressingtheliteraturedirectlywouldbemoredistractingthan

edifying.Furthermore,giventhatWittgenstein,withfewexceptions,neveremployeda

quoteandinterpretstyleofphilosophicalinvestigation,weshouldwonderwhetherthose

28
whowriteuptheirinterpretationsofhisworksinalmostexclusivelysuchastylereally

getwhathewasupto5.

Whatwecallgettingitis,insomeways,thefoundationofmywork.Wegetjokes,

meanings,hints,ideas,points,driftsandsoon.ThereisnogettingWittgenstein's

philosophy,Iargue,withoutwriting,thinkingandexperiencingphilosophyashedid.

OnecansaysimilarthingsofPlato,Kant,Hegel,oranyseriousphilosopher.Getting

whattheyarealluptomeanstodowhattheydo.InWittgenstein'scase,hecontinually

practicedandrefinedhisinvestigativemethods,andsohereItrytodosomethinglikethe

samething.6

Wittgenstein'sworksarerepetitive,oftensayingthesamethingsmanytimesoverand

overwithonlyslightvariation.Thiscanbesomewhatoffputting,almostdisorienting.

Thereaderunfamiliarwithhisstyleorhismethodsmightthink:Didn'tIjustreadthat?

ButcarefularrangementofseeminglyrepetitiveremarkshelpsWittgensteintoaccentuate

oftenoverlookedaspectsofphilosophicalquestionsandanswers.Heapproachestopics

fromdifferentanglessometimesquickly,sometimeswithameasuredpace,sometimes

5
Cf.PIIIxi,p215:Butifasentencecanstrikemeasapaintinginwords,andtheveryindividualword
inthesentenceaslikeapicture,thenitisnosuchmarvelthatawordutteredinisolationandwithout
purposecanseemtocarryaparticularmeaninginitself.Itwouldbeironictoquotethispassageand
try,sosoon,totieitintomythesisbuttothinkthatthisismyaimwouldbetomisunderstandmy
point.Iquotethispassagebecauseofitsinfluenceonmytext.Oftenmyfootnotesanduseof
quotationsservetocataloginfluencesratherthantoexpanduponanisolatedpoint,ortomakea
tangentialpoint,orsomeotherpurpose.
6
Inhislaterworks,particularlyhisPhilosophicalInvestigations,Wittgensteinexercisesasimilarnotion:fit.Cf.PI1368,182,
and216.

29
withjustaglancingblowonlytobeaddressedindepthlater.Hemodelshismethod

partlyontherapy,wherethepointistodevelopanunderstandingofanissueratherthan

togetparticipantstoagreewithaproposition.Understandinganissueisakinto

developingacompetence.Wittgenstein'sgoalistogetbetteratphilosophyandwe

getbetterbyparticipatinginbothtrainingorientedandtherapeuticexercises7.Wewill

returntothispointoverandoverinthetext,especiallyintheconcreteexamples

mentionedabove,suchaslearningtoplaypiano,trainingforabicyclerace,practicing

tennis,anddevelopingmoreandmoreamusingdeliveriesofjokes.

Onthismodel,onemightsaythatphilosophyisataxonomicactivity,largelyconcerned

withorganizingthoughtsforparticularpurposes.Butphilosophersalsoconcern

themselveswithexplanationsordescriptionsofabstractphenomena,orwithanswering

questionsaboutcausesofbehaviorsormotivationsforactions,andsoforth.

Philosophyisalsosomethingofageographicactivity,wherewedescribeacartographic

conceptualterrainbydescribinghowwepicturealandscapefromawidevarietyof

angles.Philosophyissometimesagame,sometimesanexerciseinpuzzlesolving,

7
Cf.PI,90,107,109,118133,esp.125and133.
AlsoZettel,412419:
412.AmIdoingchildpsychology?Iammakingaconnexionbetweentheconceptofteachingand
theconceptofmeaning.
419.Anyexplanationhasitsfoundationintraining.(Educatorsoughttorememberthis.)

30
sometimesitislikedevelopingagoodjoke,whereafinalstatementwilltieamonologue

together.

Thesearemetaphorsfortechniquesthatweusetodevelopourunderstandingsof

philosophicalabstractions.Andthesearemeresuggestionsofamuchrichervocabulary

thatwewillemployheretodescribehowwecontinuallydevelopourcompetencewith

suchabstractions.Veryroughly,philosophyistalkingabouthowwedowhatwedoand

whywedowhatwedo.

Allofthismightmakeitsoundasifwemustplayabitfastandlooseinphilosophyas

ifthereisnoconcretemeasureofwhatevencountsasinvestigatingphilosophically.But

Idonotmeanforthethesistogetsofaroutofhand:therearedefiniteboundariesto

whatmakessenseinphilosophy.Thetroubleisthatwecannotstatewhatthose

boundariesaretheyaretheboundariesofourexpressiveabilities.Butthiswillnot

stopusfromtrying;itisjustthiseffortthatfinetunesandexpandsourcapacityfor

expression.Furthermore,intryingthiswedevelopourcollectivecompetenceat

evaluatingwhatcountsasphilosophicalinquiryandatevaluatinghowwellwedoit.

Justaswecanthinkofpitchingasconstantrefinementofthrowingaballandwe

areallcapableofthrowingaballondayoneofIntroductiontoPhilosophy,thestudent

isfullycapableofphilosophizing,ifweconceiveofourdisciplineintherightspiritand

31
withtherightmethodologicaltoolsatourdisposal.Thephilosophertrainswithwords

anddevelopsideas,andanysufficientlyseriousstudent,adequatelyguided,candothis

bysimplytakingpentopaperandwritingrevisingrefiningrewriting,andso

on.8

Modestlythen,Ihopetoshowthatthebestwaytointroduceandtodescribephilosophy

isasamethodofpracticalrefinement.Wearewriterswhoreportwhathappensatthe

edgesofourintellectualcompetences,andaswewritemore,thosecompetencesexpand,

allowingustobetterreportonwhatpreviouslylayattheedges,andtomorereasonably

suggestwhatisyettocome.

8
Cf.PI,130:Ourclearandsimplelanguagegamesarenotpreparatorystudiesforafuture
regularizationoflanguageasitwerefirstapproximations,ignoringfrictionandairresistance.The
languagegamesarerathersetupasobjectsofcomparisonwhicharemeanttothrowlightonthefacts
ofourlanguagebywaynotonlyofsimilarities,butalsoofdissimilarities.
Again,itisnotappropriatetoemployWittgenstein'stechnicaltermlanguagegamehere,andIcite
thisasaninfluentialpassagepartlytoshowthatwedonotneedtoleanonhisspecificvocabularyto
makeourpoints.Inthiscase,thevocabulary,thetechnicalterms,andtheinvestigativemethod
developedherearenotpreparationsforsomethingyettocome.Eachsectionshouldstandonitsown
merit.

32
 Method

1.IntroductiontoPhilosophy

Whereweparallelphilosophicalskillswithotherpracticedactivities,like
musicandsports,suggestsomevocabularythatwewilldevelophere,and
indicatehowWittgensteinsinvestigativemethodsinfluencethistext.

Followup:16.Philosophy,dnouement.

Whetheranintroductorystudentinacollegeclass,awellpracticedlearnerwhoteaches

atauniversity,oracasualreaderwhopursuesthedisciplineinhisfreetime,thestudent

ofphilosophyshoulddevelopasenseofwhatphilosophersdo,whytheydoit,andhow

theydoit.Often,introductorystudents,professionals,andcasualpursuersbenefitfrom

statingandrestatingthequestionstheyinvestigate,howtheyproceedintheir

investigationsand,importantly,whytheyinvestigateinthefirstplace.Todothisisto

developavocabulary,whichistodevelopskillswithwords.Intheprocess,welearnto

makenewwordsfitinwithotherwordswealreadyuse,andwedevelopnuancedusesof

thosewordsandnewones.Thisresultsinourdevelopingcomplexideasand

perspectivesabouthowweunderstandtheworldandouractivitiesinit.Andthisisone

modelofphilosophicalinvestigation.

33
Butthisisnotanattempttostateonceandforallwhatfamilyofactivitiesorwhat

collectionsofwordsandexpressionscountasphilosophy.Rather,hereIaimto

assemblecertainaspectsofOrdinaryLanguagephilosophyintoacoherentdescription

ofthedisciplineingeneral.Todothis,inmyview,istodevelopamethod,andwiththis

methodonecanintroducephilosophytoothers,orpursuephilosophicalinvestigationon

one'sown,ordevelopinnovativeapproachestovariousskillbuildingenterprises,andso

forth9.

HereIofferaninvestigativemodelthatdrawstogetheraspectsofothers'philosophical

strategies,inparticularearly20thCenturyOrdinaryLanguagephilosophers.Atthe

sametime,Iofferanaccountoftheremarkableproductivityofcertaintextsandauthors,

themostinfluentialherebeingLudwigWittgensteinandhisPhilosophicalInvestigations.

Intheinterestsofavoidingselfdefeat,Isubmitthistextasanexampleofwhatresults

fromemployingtheinvestigativemethodthatitdescribes.

9
Cf.PI,118133,esp.133:
Itisnotouraimtorefineorcompletethesystemofrulesfortheuseofourwordsinunheardofways.
Fortheclaritythatweareaimingatisindeedcompleteclarity.Butthissimplymeansthatthe
philosophicalproblemsshouldcompletelydisappear.
TherealdiscoveryistheonethatmakesmecapableofstoppingdoingphilosophywhenIwantto.
Theonethatgivesphilosophypeace,sothatitisnolongertormentedbyquestionswhichbringitself
intoquestion.Instead,wenowdemonstrateamethod,byexamples;andtheseriesofexamplescan
bebrokenoff.Problemsaresolved(difficultieseliminated),notasingleproblem.
Thereisnotaphilosophicalmethod,thoughthereareindeedmethods,likedifferenttherapies.

34
Liketheintroductorypianostudentandtheconcertperformerwhobothpracticeonthe

instrumentdaily,philosophersintheearlystagesoftheirstudythroughthosealready

widelypublishedandrespectedcontinuetodeveloptheirstyles,theirwritingskills,and

theirteachingtechniques.ThemethodthatIdescribe,then,takestheformofskill

buildingthroughtraining.Wedonotusuallythinkofgettingbetteratphilosophyas

somethingaccomplishedthroughtraining,butwedonotoftenthinkaboutwhatskillswe

usewhenwedophilosophy,forthatmatter.Here,Iwishtodojustthat.

Philosophyoftentakesawrittenform,butalso:spokenargument,teaching,anddebating.

Sopartofmytaskhereistodevelopacompetenceatidentifyingthesortsofwriting,

thinking,arguments,andteachingthatstandoutasphilosophical.Tohelpusmakethis

identification,weneedtodevelopavocabularythatwecanusetotalkaboutabstract

conceptsincludingthewordconceptitself.

Allofthisisnecessarilyandunapologeticallyvague.SinceIintendtodevelopa

vocabularytotalkaboutthoughtfulpursuits,Icannotstatefromthestarthowthatpursuit

willconclude;thereadermustcharitablypursuewithmeinordertoreachthesame

conclusionthatIreach.Partofthetask,then,istogetcompetentwithaparticular

vocabularyavocabularytobedevelopedthroughoutthistext.

35
Tobegin,Idevelopanotionofthinkingthatmightseemalientothealreadytrained

philosopher,sinceIincludeabroadrangeofseeminglyunrelatedactivitiesunderits

description.Iuseavarietyofordinarywordsinincreasinglyspecificways,including

style,gettingit,method,concept,intention,andpractice.Bytheendofthis

text,weshouldhaverefinedourabilitytousethisvocabularytodistinguishapractical

andeffectivepedagogicandinvestigativemethod.

Wittgenstein'sinfluenceontheprojectispartlystylisticandpartlymethodological.His

method,includingcarefularrangementoftersephilosophicalremarks,allowshimto

developavocabularythatawellreadWittgensteiniancanemployasshortcutsin

philosophicaldiscussions.Forexample,languagegameandformoflifeactas

technicaltermsinhisworks,thoughtheirsensechangesoverthecourseofWittgenstein's

writingswhichispreciselywhatweshouldexpectofapracticingphilosopher,onthe

viewdevelopedhere.

IdonotdirectlyaddresshowWittgensteindevelopsatechnicalvocabularythroughout

hiswritings.NorwillIcasuallyassumethoseterms,outofhisspecificcontext,to

addressquestionsaboutwhatIcallaninvestigativemethod.Wittgenstein,apparently

frustratedwiththestateofearlytwentiethcenturyanalyticphilosophy(andpartly

acceptingblameforit),developedavocabularytohelpmakeclearwhatwerethesources

ofhisfrustrations.IfweemployaWittgensteinianapproachtocontemporary

36
philosophicalpuzzles,onthisinterpretation,wedonotmarshalhisspecifictechnical

vocabularyformodernpurposes,butratherweapplyhistechniquesandhismethodsto

achievesimilarendstoexpressacritiqueofafrustratingstateofphilosophicaland

pedagogicaffairs.

Whenreadinghisworks,onecansenseWittgenstein'sdesiretoalterthecourseof

ordinaryphilosophicalandinvestigativepursuits,whichpartlyexplainshispeculiarand

unfamiliarstyle.Iwouldliketotrysomethingalongthesamelines.Ifeelthatasortof

complacencyaboutthedevelopmentofthedisciplineamongsomeprofessionals,anda

pervasivedisregardforitsneophytepractitionershasthepotentialtoalienatebothfuture

studentsandcurrentprofessionals.Thedisciplinecanremainintellectuallyeven

sociallyrelevantifwerecognizeandadapttowhatseparatescontemporarystudents

includingourselvesfromhistoricstudentsofphilosophy.

Contemporarystudentsofphilosophyencounterwrittenwords,philosophicalideas,and

educationingeneral,quitedifferentlythantheydidagenerationago.Perhapsolder

generationsderidecurrentgenerationsabouttheirlimitedskillsandattentionspans.But

Ancientgenerationswouldcertainlyderidethesesamemoderncriticsonsimilargrounds

fortheirobsessivedependenceonthewrittenword,ratherthanthespoken,widely

publicwordsusedindebate,performance,orapology.Contemporarystudentsof

philosophyencounterideasandperformancesdifferentlythandidstudentsafew

37
generationsago.Consequently,we,aseducatorsandcontinuingstudentsofthe

discipline,needtoaccept,openlyandcharitably,howchangesinthetransferenceofideas

impactsphilosophicalpursuits.Thistextisaconsequenceanddevelopmentofthat

acceptance.Furthermore,IofferthistextasanadvanceoverWittgenstein'sphilosophical

style:itisasustainednarrativethatcompletessomeofhissuggestedconnections

betweencomplex,abstractphilosophicaltopics,anddemonstratesthatcontinuitythrough

itsuniquestructure.

Theworld'sbestconcertpianists,thebesttennisplayers,thebestcomediansandactors

continuallypracticetheircrafts,bothtodeveloptheirownskillsandtorelatebetterto

contemporaryaudiencesandcompetitors.FollowingWittgenstein'smethodological

innovations,heremygoalistodescribeandtoemployastyleofinvestigationsuitedto

itsintellectualenvironmentaswatersuitsafish.Onecanreadthistextasdevelopinga

methodtoteachphilosophy,butitisatthesametimeamethodtodevelopourownskills

atexpressingthepuzzlesthatareourdiscipline.Thoughthismayseemanimmodest

goal,Ionlyaimtoexpressoneamongmanypossible,effectiveinvestigativemethods,

includingthoseyettobedeveloped.Ifthemethoddevelopedherehelpsthestudentof

philosophyorthestudentofanypracticedcraftasmuchasithashelpedme,then

thistextwillhavedoneanhonestday'swork.

38
2.Practice,Performance&Motivation

Wherewedescribedifferentkindsofpracticing,clarifythekindof
purposefulpracticethatinterestsushere,andstarttosuggestconnections
betweenphilosophicalpursuitsandthetangibleexamplesthatwewill
developthroughoutthetext.

Followup:15.Practice&Performance,whereweinvestigateour
capacitytodifferentiatebetweenpracticingandperforming.

Thepianostudentworksthroughscalesandfingerstrengtheningexercisestoimprovehis

performancesofcompositionsorhisimprovisationalskills.Thecyclistsprintsand

climbsanddevelopshiscadencetoimprovehisenduranceonalongtour.Thecomedian

worksonhistiming,inflectionandgesturestoimprovehisdelivery,andheapproaches

histopicsinsufficientlysurprisingwaystoelicitlaughs.Philosophersreadwidely,they

discussandinterpretreadings,andtheyteachinnovativeideasandthinkingandwriting

methods.Unstructuredandunsupervisedpracticing,however,rarelyenhancesthinking

andwritingskillsasrapidlyaswhenteacherandstudent,orpeerandpeer,engagein

guidedexchange.Philosopherspracticetheircraftbythinkingandbywriting,and

practiceoftheoneimprovesperformanceoftheother.

Practiceimprovesperformancewhenboththepractitionerwantstoimprovehis

performanceandwhenhisteacheraimstoenhancethestudent'sskills.Practicethat

improvesuponaskillisaspecifickindofpracticeitispracticeguidednormatively

andmotivatedbynormativity.Teachersteachthewaythattheyfeelstudentsshould

39
perform,andstudentsaspiretoanideal,tryingassortedmethodsthattheyfeelmight

achievethatend.Teachersgivespecificinstructions,ofteninaformlike:Dothisor

thisishowtodoX.Commandsandinstructionshelptoestablishstandardsthatthe

studentcanusetoevaluatehissuccessorhisfailure.Studentsadjustwhattheydoand

thewaystheydowhattheydountiltheyfindthatoraretoldthattheybettermeet

thestandards.Astheylearntomeetexpectations,theydeveloptheirskillsas

performersandasevaluators.Andtheirskillsincludegraspingwhentheyhavesaidor

doneenough,whentheyshoulddoorpracticemore,orwhentheyhavecompletedatask.

Deliberate,improvementorientedactivitiescontrastwithsuchthingsascasuallywriting

inajournalusually,thejournalwriterdoesnottrytoimprovehiswritingskillsso

muchastoexpressathoughtortorecordapersonalhistory.Similarly,inbicyclingto

thestore,thecyclistdoesnottrytoimprovehisracingskillssomuchastoacquire

consumablegoods.Wemightsaythatinneitherofthesecasesdoestheactortry

anythingnew,ortostressanewskillinanefforttoimprovethatskill.

HereIconcernmyselfwithpracticemotivatedbyadesiretoimproveuponaskill,where

ateacheroftenguidesastudent'spracticewithapictureofhowanideaoranactivity

wouldbebestexpressedorperformed.Thisiswhatphilosopherscallanormative

point;standardsguidetheactivity.Studentsmustdevelopacompetenceatrecognizing

whentheyperformaskillwell,whentheyneedtoimprove,andhowtheycanimprove.

40
Giventhis,partofourtaskwillbetodevelopourselfevaluationskills,whichwewill

modelonourevaluationsofothers'relatedperformances.Myconcern,then,iswiththe

sortsofpracticinginwhichateacherencouragesastudenttoreviseatechnique,totryto

improveuponamethod,toexpandhisvocabulary,todevelopaninterpretationofatext,

toinvestigatethereasonsbehindanevent,andsoon.

Wecandescribetheinteractionofteachersandstudentsinavarietyofways:

apprenticeship,indoctrination,takingclasses,observingexperts,andsoforth.Forthe

philosopher,guidanceoftentakestheformofpeerreviewedpapers,participationin

seminarsorcolloquia,andtheoftenoverlookedgiveandtakeexchangesthatcharacterize

explainingideastootherssuchaswhileteaching.Inallofthesecases,andcountless

others,thephilosopheraimstosynthesizeortogeneratenovelideasaboutbroadtopics

likeknowledge,morality,thinking,argument,etc.Thisprocessrequiressharp,onthe

spotrevisionsandreinterpretations.Thephilosopheroftenimprovisesashethinksup

andarrangesnewexpressionsoffamiliarideas.

Writers,philosophers,actors,andathletesallfinetunetheirperformancesthrough

specific,targetedpracticing.Comedicwritersdeliverjokestoaudiences,tryoutdifferent

writtenexpressionsofwhatseemstoworkinaliveperformance,orpushthelimitsof

41
whatsoundssensibleorsurprisingtoshockanaudienceintoalaugh.Actorstake

direction.Adirectorcommunicatestotheactorwhatmotivateshiminascene,andthe

actortriesoutavarietyofexpressionstocommunicatethatmotivationtotheaudience.

Athletestrytopushthemselvespasttheirphysicallimits.Theylearnandtheypractice

techniquestoimproveontheirpastperformancestechniquesthattheymightdevelop

ontheirown,orthatacoachmightshowthem,orthattheymightstumbleuponduring

theirpracticesessions.

Directors,coaches,andteachersmotivateactors,athletes,andstudentsthey

communicatethepurposeoftrainingandtryingthingsout.Incaseslikesports,the

purposeofanathlete'strainingisobvious:toimprovehisperformanceinthatsport.The

sprintingcyclisttrainstosprintfasterandsothecoachdesignsatrainingregimen

intendedtoimprovethataspectofthecyclist'sperformance.Thedirectortriestotellthe

actorhowhisperformancefitsinwiththewholeproduction,andwillgivefeedbackand

tipstohelpmakethishappen.

Thephilosopher'sparalleltaskisdifficulttodescribe,partlybecausethetaskisabstract,

andpartlybecausethetaskismultifaceted.Theteachingphilosopherneedstoexpressa

purposeoramotivationtostudentsifthestudents'practicingistopayoff.Atthesame

time,thephilosopherasanindependentlearnerneedstohaveapictureofhisown

42
purposeapictureofwhatsortsofpracticingwilladvancehiscause,andwhatsortsof

resultswouldindicateadvances.

Thoughthephilosopher'staskisabstract,wecanaddressthetasktangiblyifweconsider

itintherightspirit.Thephilosopherisaspecificsortofthinkerwhosemosteffective

toolsarewrittenandspokenwords.Areasonablestarttoourinvestigation,then,isto

developaconcretewaytotalkaboutthinking,bearinginmindthatourpurposeisatleast

twofold:todescribetoastudenttheskillsthatphilosophersexercise,andtoclarifyfor

ourselveswhatitisliketoimproveourownskillsatphilosophicalinvestigation.

Again,ourtemptationmightbetotellstudentswhatphilosophyis,butatthispointour

taskistointroduceideasthatwe(andperhapsnotthey)wouldcallphilosophical.And

wedothisinordertoexerciseacompetenceatusingthisword.Hereweinvestigate

thought,argument,andbehavioralpatterns,andwedevelopexpositorystrategiesfor

expressingwhatthosepatternsare.

Philosophersoftentendtotalkorwriteaboutdecisions,arguments,andactions,and

rarelywouldtheyclassifytheirwritingastheactionitself.Towriteaboutmoralityisnot

43
usuallyseenasactingmorally;towriteaboutadecisionisnotusuallytomakea

decision10.Butsaythataphilosopherdevelopsaninterestintalkingaboutmorality.One

expositorystrategyistotalkaboutbehaviorpatternsbyinventingexamplesofwhatwe

(inthediscipline)callmoraldilemmas,orhemighttalkaboutnoncontroversialcases

fromnewsstoriesorfrompersonalexperience.Oraphilosophermightdevelopan

interestinlogic,andsohewilltalkaboutargumentativepatterns,perhapsbyinventinga

calculusorasymbolicsystemthatexpresseshisanalysis.

Itmightseemforcedorartificialtoputitthisway,butourinteresthereisnotalwaysin

talkingaboutphilosophy,orthinking,ormeaning,thoughitwillbefairenoughtoputit

thatwayattimes.Weaimtodevelopourskillsatidentifyingthesethingsat

developingacompetencewithavocabularyandtodevelopacompetencewitha

vocabularyisnot(necessarily)totalkaboutthatvocabulary.Forexample,tostudywhat

philosopherscallmeaningisnotnecessarilytotalkaboutthephenomenon.Tolookat

instancesofwhenweeasilyrecognizemeaningfulstatementsorsymbolscountsjustas

wellasaninvestigationintothephenomenonastalkingaboutthephenomenon.One

mightsaythattodothisistotalkaboutthephenomenon(meaning,forexample)

indirectly.

10
Importantly,inthiscase,thewaythatwetalkaboutinvestigativemethodsisitselfaphilosophical
investigation;wedowhatwetalkaboutwhilewetalkaboutit.

44
Thissuggestsanexpositorystrategythatdoesnotinvolveinventionofnewwordsor

concepts.Instead,likeareporter,werecordobservationssometimesasparaphrasesof

complexsituationsdesignedtoaccentuatewhatwetaketobeimportantaspectsofthat

situationaspectsofasituationthatrevealinsightsaboutitssignificance.Werecord

purposefully.Weaimtoshowpatternsinhowweusewords,orarguments,orhowwe

reacttomorallyquestionabledecisions,andsoforth.Forourpurposes,doingthiskindof

reportingwillcountassayingwhatsomethingisandoften,atthesame,timewill

countasdoingwhatwearetalkingabout.

Again,thisstrategywillmakemoresenseasweseeitinaction.Soletusbeginwitha

descriptionofanactivitycentraltophilosophicalwork:thinking.

45
3.Thinking

Whereweshowthatthinkingcanbeconstruedbroadlyashandson
activity,andsuggestthatwetreatphilosophicalthinkingsimilarly.
Throughout,wecontinuetoemphasizethatourpurposesdeeplyinfluence
howweunderstandandimproveuponourthinkingskills.

Followup:14.SelfEvaluation,whereweshowthatourjudgments
aboutourownskillsaremodeledonjudgmentsofothers'skills,whichwe
learnintheworld.

Sincephilosophersspendsomuchtimethinking,thephilosophystudentneedstodevelop

aspecialsensitivityforidentifyingthesortsofactivitiesthatinvolvethinking.To

developthissense,westartbyenumeratinganddescribingthoughtfulactivities,and

thenwetrytorefinethosedescriptions.Wecandevelopthespecificcaseof

philosophicalfromthegeneralcaseofthinkingbyindicatingwhatactivitiesthe

descriptionphilosophicalpicksout.Throughthisexercise,thestudentofphilosophy

developshisownthinkingskills,andasaconsequence,developshisphilosophical

techniques.

Throughoutthisinvestigation,wewilldevelopourowntechnicalterm:thoughtful.We

willuseitinabroadersensethanitsordinaryuse,especiallytodescribeactivitiesthat

involvedeliberation,consideration,reflection,intentionalactivities,andsoforth.

46
Almostanyactivitymightinvolvethinkingundertherightcircumstances.For

example,chewingisusuallylittlemorethangrindingfood,buttoafoodcritic,much

thoughtgoesintotheactivity.Thecriticknowshowtotastefoodincertainpartsofher

mouth,withcertainpartsofhertongue,andshechewsatadeliberaterate,andsoon.The

restofusmostlyjustchew.Similarly,formostofus,pettingadogislittlemorethan

movingourhandsacrossitsfur,butforthetrainerortheprofessionalhandler,strokesare

deliberateandcommunicative.Thehandler'smotionscalmthedogduringcompetition;

sheteachesthedogtotoleratechildrenortoobeyanowner'scommands.Importantly,in

thesecases,therearestandardsagainstwhichwecanevaluatewhetherthefoodcriticgot

itwrong,orwhetherthedogtrainer'sworkhasbeeneffective.Inthistext,ourinterestin

thinkingisakintothefoodcritic'sinterestinchewingorthedogtrainer'sinterestin

petting.Thinkingisaspecializedactivity,forthephilosopher.Andtherearestandards

againstwhichwecanjudgetheresultsofaphilosopher's(andourown)work.

Weencounterawiderangeofgrammaticalvariationwiththinkingwords.For

example,itsuddenlyoccurstomethatIforgotyourbirthday.Ithinkweshouldcheck

theweatherbeforewerideourbicycles.Weshouldn'ttakethefreewayduringrushhour.

Theseactivitiessuddenrealizations,expressionsofwhatwenormallydo,orbasic

normativeguidelinescontrastwiththesortsofactivitiesunderinvestigationhere.Our

interestsincludeexpressionslike:Iwillhavetothinkyourproposalover.Yourgiftwas

exactlywhatIneeded;howverythoughtful.Wecanfigureouthowtofixthebicycle's

47
shiftersifwethinkitthrough.Theselatterexpressionsstandoutpartlybecausethey

describedeliberateactivitiesratherthanoffthecuffreactionsandoccurrences.

Ineachoftheaboveexamples,wecouldjustaseasilysubstituteconsider(ora

synonym)forthinkandmakethesamepoints:Iwillhavetoconsideryourproposal.

YourgiftwasexactlywhatIneeded;howveryconsiderate.Wecanfigureouthowtofix

thebicycle'sshiftersifweconsiderhowtheyaresupposedtowork.Thissimple

observationshowsusmuchaboutthinkingalreadyitcomesinmanyforms;wecan

describethinkingactivitiesjustaswellwithsynonyms.Andimportantly,thinkingverbs

suggestrelatedadverbs.Wedeliberate,butwealsoperformactionsdeliberately.We

think,andalsoperformactionsthoughtfully.Weargue,andalsobehave

argumentatively.Weconvince,andsometimesspeakconvincingly.Wephilosophize,

oftenbyspeakingphilosophically.Doinganddescribingverbandadverbare

closelyconnected.Thecloserelationshipbetweenthinkingandthoughtful(inour

technicalsense)isamodeloftherelationshipbetweenphilosophizeand

philosophicalarelationshipthatwewillcontinuetodevelopinthistext.

Toenumerateexampleslikethisissomethingofatherapeuticactivity.Throughthe

exercise,wecometorecognizethatthinking,inthisexample,isnotamysterious

activityhiddeninourheads;thinkinghappensintheworld11.

11
Cf.Zettel,88131,esp.105107,110111ff.:

48
 *

Welearnwhatthinkingisbynoticinghowweidentifyanddescribethoughtful

activities.Forourpurposes,clarifyingthinkinghelpsustounderstandwhat

philosophersdo,whichinturnwillhelpustorecognizehowwecandevelopourown

philosophicalskillsbyrefiningourinvestigativemethods.

110.'Thinking',awidelyramifiedconcept.Aconceptthatcomprisesmanymanifestationsoflife.
Thephenomenaofthinkingarewidelyscattered.
111.Wearenotatallpreparedforthetaskofdescribingtheuseofe.g.,theword'tothink'(Andwhy
shouldwebe?Whatissuchadescriptionusefulfor?)
Andthenaveideathatoneformsofitdoesnotcorrespondtorealityatall.Weexpectasmooth
contourandwhatwegettoseeisragged.Hereitmightreallybesaidthatwehaveconstructedafalse
picture.
Also,PI,97:
Thoughtissurroundedbyahalo.Itsessence,logic,presentsanorder,infacttheaprioriorderofthe
world:thatis,theorderofpossibilities,whichmustbecommontobothworldandthought.Butthis
order,itseems,mustbeutterlysimple.Itispriortoallexperience,mustrunthroughallexperience;no
empiricalcloudinessoruncertaintycanbeallowedtoaffectitItmustratherbeofthepurest
crystal.Butthiscrystaldoesnotappearasanabstraction;butassomethingconcrete,indeed,asthe
mostconcrete,asitwere,thehardestthingthereis(TractatusLogicoPhilosophicusNo.5.5563).
Weareundertheillusionthatwhatispeculiar,profound,essentialinourinvestigation,residesinits
tryingtograsptheincomparableessenceoflanguage.Thatis,theorderexistingbetweentheconcepts
ofproposition,word,proof,truth,experience,andsoon.Thisorderisasuperorderbetweensoto
speaksuperconcepts.Whereas,ofcourse,ifthewords'language','experience','world',haveause,it
mustbeashumbleaoneasthatofthewords'table','lamp','door'.
TLP,5.5563:
Infact,allthepropositionsofoureverydaylanguage,justastheystand,areinperfectlogicalorder.
Thatutterlysimplething,whichwehavetoformulatehere,isnotalikenessofthetruth,butthetruth
itselfinitsentirety.
(Ourproblemsarenotabstract,butperhapsthemostconcretethatthereare.)

49
MyinvestigativemethodincludesmakingstatementslikeThinkingis_____.With

suchepigrams,Idonotequatethinkingtoaspecificactivity12.Rather,Iintendtostate

somethingsensibleaboutthinking,thenshow,throughexamples,howtheepigrammakes

senseinaspecificcontext.Todothisistotalkaboutwhatweusuallycall

significance.Intheend,thereadershouldfeelafamiliarsenseofgettingit(akinto

whatwesometimescallunderstanding),muchlikeonegetsajoke,orfeelsthe

resolutionofamelody13.Thissortofactivitystatementandelaborationisafeature

ofwhatIadvocateasasoundinvestigativemethod,andthiscanserveasamodelofhow

wedophilosophy.

12
Cf.PI,II.ii.,esp.p.175:Thewords'theroseisred'aremeaninglessiftheword'is'hasthemeaning'is
identicalwith'.Doesthismean:ifyousaythissentenceandmeanthe'is'asthesignofidentity,the
sensedisintegrates?
Also,PI,558:
Whatdoesitmeantosaythatthe'is'in'Thisroseisred'hasadifferentmeaningfromthe'is'in'twice
twoisfour'?Ifitisansweredthatitmeansthatdifferentrulesarevalidforthesetwowords,wecansay
thatwehaveonlyonewordhere.AndifallIamattendingtoisgrammaticalrules,thesedoallowthe
useoftheword'is'inbothconnexions.Buttherulewhichshewsthattheword'is'hasdifferent
meaningsinthesesentencesistheoneallowingustoreplacetheword'is'inthesecondsentencebythe
signofequality,andforbiddingthissubstitutioninthefirstsentence.
AndPI,561:
Nowisn'titqueerthatIsaythattheword'is'isusedwithtwodifferentmeanings(asthecopulaandas
thesignofequality),andshouldnotcaretosaythatitsmeaningisitsuse;itsuse,thatis,asthecopula
andthesignofequality?
Onewouldliketosaythatthesetwokindsofusedonotyieldasinglemeaning;theunionunderone
headisanaccident,amereinessential.
13
Noticehowwedonottypicallysaythatweunderstandajoke,forexample.Tosaythatwegeta
jokeistosaythatwegraspthattheonestatementthepunchlinefollowsthesetup;theygo
together.Similarly,wegraspwhenamelodyhasresolved,butthatgraspingisnotsomethingthatwe
wouldnaturallycallunderstanding.Generally,inthistext,whenIchoosethewordgetoverthe
wordunderstand,Iaimtoemphasizethattheactionorbehaviorinquestionisasnatural(or
effortless,perhaps)aslaughingatajokeorfeelingsatisfiedattheendofasong.

50
WhenwesaysomethinglikeThisisThat,wedonotoftenmeantoequateonething

withanotherthoughobviouslysometimeswedo,aswhenwesaythattwotimestwo

isfour,orthatbachelorsareunmarriedmales.Oftenwemeantopointoutanaspectora

featureorapropertyofsomething,suchasthisroseisred,orlemonsaresour,or

Tanyaissmart.Forsomepurpose,weindicatethataroseisred,thoughweknowand

wouldnotdenythatitisalsoaflower,anditisfragrant,anditissofttothetouch.

Likewise,lemonsareyellow,andtheyarefruits,andtheyaresquishy.Tanyaispoised,

andsheisbeautiful,andsheistalented.Whatweintendtoconveyinfluenceswhat

aspectsofathingoractivitywechoosetoindicate.Here,Iintendtosaywhatmakes

thinkingmorethanoperatingwithwords.Iintendtoshowthatwecanconstrue

thinkingbroadlytoincludenotonlyoperationswithwords,butmanipulationsofobjects

andinstruments,developmentofphysicalskills,andskilledperformancesof

compositions,scripts,jokes,andsoforth.

Wewitnessthechessplayer'sthinkingashemakesamoveinthegame;wewitnessthe

musician'sthinkingassheexpressesherselfthroughherinstrument;wewitnessthe

comedian'sthinkingasheadjustshisdeliveryandhistimingtogethisaudiencetolaugh

harderandharder.Thepainter,theactor,thenovelist,thetennisplayer,thesurgeon:they

allshowtheirthoughtsthroughtheirworks,throughtheirmovementsandthroughtheir

expressions.Towitnessdeliberateactionsistogettoknowthinking,andatthesame

timeistogettoknowactivitieslikeplaying(gamesandmusic),expressing(jokesand

51
ideas),acting,writing,operating,andsoforth.Thisperspectivebenefitsboththestudent

ofphilosophywhoneedstounderstandwhatthedisciplineisandtheprofessional

philosopher,whooftenuseshelpfulremindersofhowtopracticethediscipline

effectively.Gettingtoknowhowwethink,ingeneral,helpsustodevelopour

philosophicalthinkingskills14.

Weareusuallyquitecapableofdistinguishingbetweengenuineandpretendfacial

expressions,andthoughwedonottypicallyhaveavocabularytodescribethose

differences(beyondgenuineandpretend,perhaps),distinguishinganddescribing

certainlyinvolvethinking15.Distinguishinganddescribingdonotalwaysinvolve

verbalizingideas:talentedpainterscanlearntorepresentgenuineexpressionswithout

describingorexplaininghowtheydoso.Theyshowtheirunderstandingbypainting

14
Cf.Zettel,102105:
104.Ifhehasmadesomecombinationinplayorbyaccidentandhenowusesitasamethodofdoing
thisandthat,weshallsayhethinks.Inconsideringhewouldmentallyreviewwaysandmeans.But
todothishemustalreadyhavesomeinstock.Thinkinggiveshimthepossibilityofperfectinghis
methods.Orrather:He'thinks'when,inadefinitekindofway,heperfectsamethodhehas.
105.Itcouldalsobesaidthatamanthinkswhenhelearnsinaparticularway.
15
Cf.PI,IIxi,p228:
Imponderableevidenceincludessubtletiesofglance,ofgesture,oftone.
Imayrecognizeagenuinelovinglook,distinguishitfromapretendedone(andheretherecan,of
course,bea'ponderable'confirmationofmyjudgment).ButImaybequiteincapableofdescribingthe
difference.AndthisisnotbecausethelanguagesIknowhavenowordsforit.Forwhynotintroduce
newwords?IfIwereaverytalentedpainterImightconceivablyrepresentthegenuineandthe
simulatedglanceinpictures.

52
ratherthanbytalking.Actorsdoasimilarthingbyacting,whichisonlypartlytalking

orincaseslikesilentfilmsactingmightnotinvolvetalkingatall.Weshouldsaythe

sameofphilosophy.Toinvestigatephilosophically,partly,istousewords,vocabularies,

argumentstructures,etc.Butthereismoretoaphilosophicalperformance,andthistext

aimstoshowthatfactmuchasapaintershowswhatsortofaglancehissubject

flashes,orasanactorportraysanemotionalupheavalorcomicrelief.Philosophersdo

notsimplyusewordsincertainwaystheyusewordsincertainwaysforspecial

purposesliketheactor'suseofdialogueandbodylanguage,thepainter'suseofcolor

andshape,themusician'suseofnotesandtechniques,etc.Thewaythataphilosopher

useswordsispartofwhatwemightcallhismethod.Histhinking,andinthecaseof

philosophy,oftenhiswriting,takesonanidentifiablestyle.Consequently,wecanbegin

todescribeaphilosophicalmethodbytryingtodescribeaphilosopher'sstyleofthinking.

Whatwecallthinkinginvolvesimprovisationwemightpicturereadingtoourselves

withoutawrittentext.Thinkingistoreadingasimprovisationaltheateristo,say,a

productionofShakespeare.Inimprovisationaltheater,actorsperformasceneor

communicateanemotion,ortension,ormelodrama,orabsurdity,oraserioustone

withoutreferencetoascript.Theyusuallystartwithanideathenbegintoplayoffof

eachothertoworkoutthatideainatheatricalmedium.Perhapstheyaimtodevelopa

scriptbyimprovisingascenemanytimesandisolatingwhatseemedsuccessful.Perhaps

theyworkonthetoneofascenebytryingvariousinflectionsandgestures:ahand

53
brushestheforeheadatadramaticmoment;asuspectshiesawaywhennewevidenceis

revealed;avillainisemboldenedasheescapesdetection.Thesesortsofactivitiesand

expressionsaretheatricalthinking.Alongwithinnumerableotheractivitiesand

descriptions,theseshowushowwelearnwhatcountsastheatrical.Thisisamodelof

howwecanlearnwhatsortsofthoughtfulactivitiescountasphilosophical.

Anotheraspectofthemethoddevelopedhereistodescribewhatverbsandphrases

whatactivitiesbecomeadjectives.Developingascript,workingoutaperformance,

learningtocryonstage:theseactivitiesandexperiencesshapeouruseoftheadjective

theatricalanditsadverbsiblingtheatrically.Aparallelinvestigationcanelucidate

whatwemeanbyphilosophy,philosophical,andphilosophically.Ratherthan

breakdownthesewords,weshowhowwebuildupcomplicateddescriptionsofour

activitiesfrommoremundanedescriptions,andthisdirectlyparallelsWittgenstein's

investigativemethod16.

Whenthinkingaboutphilosophicalorabstracttopics,wetrytodescribeanintellectual

scene,analogoustotheimprovisedtheatricalscene,withoutreferringtoanything

alreadywritten.Sometimes,wemightstartwithageneralideaandletourselvesplayoff

16
Cf.Zettel,467(andsurroundingremarks):Ourinvestigationdoesnottrytofindthereal,exact
meaningofwords;thoughwedooftengivewordsexactmeaningsinthecourseofourinvestigation.

54
ofsimilarideasthatpreviouslyoccurredtous.Or,ifwehavebeenassignedtowritea

paperortodevelopathesisstatement,wemightworkoutawrittenversionoftheideaby

tryingoutverbaldescriptionsofwhatoccurstouswhenwethinkaboutthetopicathand.

Aswetrynewanddifferenttechniques,ourideasmightchangeorevolve,andwemight

thenalterhowwetrytocapturethoseideasinwriting.Thisisacomplicatedprocess,and

soexampleswillhelpusmakesenseoftheidea.

IfIwanttoinstructanovicetennisplayerhowtohitabackhand,Iwilldescribethesorts

ofmovementsthatsheneedstomaketoswingaracketinthisway.Imightsuggestthat

themovementofherarmshouldresemblethemotionsheusestothrowaFrisbee

assumingthatmotionisnotalientoher.Imightgiveherguidelinesaboutwheretoplace

herfeetrelativetowhereshewantstodirecttheball.Certainlyatfirst,andverylikely

evenasshedevelopsabetterandbetterswing,Iwillemphasizehowmuchthereisto

thinkaboutwhenshehitsabackhand.IwillchangewhatIsayinreactiontohowwell

(orhowpoorly)shehitstheball.Myguidelineswillevolve.AndthoughIwilluse

words,guidelines,rulesandthelikewhiletrainingher,mygoalasacoachwillbetoget

hertonolongerdwellonmywords,buttosimplyhitacleanbackhand.Thisisnotto

saythatshewillnolongerbethinkingabouttheguidelines:herbackhandwillbeher

thinking.AndIwillhavegivenherthetoolsthestandardstodevelopherbackhand

onherown.

55
Philosophyisasimilarcaseinthatthegoalistodosomethingwithoutdwellingonrules

orguidelines.Butphilosophyisastrangecaseinthatthesomethingthatwedois

thinking,whichoftentakesawrittenformaformveryclosetotheguidelinesthatwe

learnedasthediscipline'sstandards.Sothoughatfirstwefocusonrules,guidelines,and

thelike,paralleltothetenniscase,weeventuallywanttosimplythinkandwrite

philosophically17.Ourgoalistolearnstandardsthatwillallowustodevelopour

thinkingskillsonourownwithouthavingtodirectlycompareoureverythought

againstthosestandards.

Whenweconsiderwhatthinkingis,wecanbeginbyimaginingthesortsofthingsthatwe

dowhenwedescribeourselvesasthinking18.WhenIthink,andespeciallywhenIwrite

philosophy,Ishushidlechatter,Idivertmyeyesfromdistractionsandlookoffintothe

distance,Ishiftbackandforthinmychair,Irubthebackofmyneck,Ioftensquint

slightly,Ibreathesteadilyanddeeply,Isipcoffee,sometimesIsaywhatIthinkaboutout

loud,ortomyself,orIwanderthroughthehouse,Irunanideapastacolleague,Ireflect

17
Undoubtedlytherewillbetimeswhenrevisitingtheguidelinesandrulesthatweusedinourtraining
willbebeneficial,justaswhenthetennisplayerrecognizesthatherbackhandfailsher,shewillalmost
surelyprofitfromrevisitingthefundamentalsofthestroke.Thismightevenhappeninthemidstofa
match:oftenafrustratedplayerwilltakeapracticeswingafteramissedshot,forexample.
18
Cf.PI,327ff:'Canonethinkwithoutspeaking?'Andwhatisthinking?Well,don'tyouever
think?Can'tyouobserveyourselfandseewhatisgoingon?Itshouldbequitesimple.Youdonot
havetowaitforitasforanastronomicaleventandthenperhapsmakeyourobservationsinahurry.

56
onhisreactions,Irestatemycase,Iwritedownnewideas,Irevisemyoriginalideas,and

soon.WhenIwriteaboutthinking,IpicturewhatIdowhenIthinkandIstartto

describethatpictureinwords,andIpickoutaspectsofmybehaviorthatindicatethatI

amthinking.Iformulatemyideasindifferentways,Ireacttothesedifferent

formulations,andIobserveothers'reactionstotheformulations.Mythinkingoften

manifestsitselfphysicallyasIimprovisewithwords.

Thisdoesnotmeanthatinimprovisation,forexample,actorssimplymakeaninternal

scriptexternal,orthatinwritingwesimplyexternalizeinternalwords19.Thoughinsome

casesthissortofcharacterizationwillbehelpful,forexample,ifweaimtoemphasizethe

wordsthatactorsuseasopposedtothewaythattheyusethosewords.Ourconcernis

withthenatureandeffectivenessoftryingthingsout,sowearenotconcernedwith

describinganinnermechanismorexplainingwhattryingamountstobeyondhuman

activity.Forthepurposesofthisinvestigation,wedescribeactionsandactivitiesthat

countasphilosophicalwiththehopethatitwillimproveourskillsatexplainingeffective

teachingandtrainingtechniques.Andwhileourexplanatoryskillsimprove,our

performanceskillsshouldsimilarlyimprove(barringthecentipedeeffect).

19
Cf.PI,305ff:
'Butyousurelycannotdenythat,forexample,inremembering,aninnerprocesstakesplace.'What
givesyoutheimpressionthatwewanttodenyanything?Whenonesays'Still,aninnerprocessdoes
takeplacehere'andonewantstogoon:'Afterall,youseeit.'Anditisthisinnerprocessthatone
meansbytheword'remembering'.Theimpressionthatwewantedtodenysomethingarisesfromour
settingourfacesagainstthepictureofthe'innerprocess'.Whatwedenyisthatthepictureoftheinner
processgivesusthecorrectideaoftheuseoftheword'toremember'.Wesaythatthispicturewithits
ramificationsstandsinthewayofourseeingtheuseofthewordasitis.

57
Whenwetrythingsout,wedealinmorethanwords;weoverlookimportantaspectsof

ouractivitywhenweattempttocharacterizetryingthingsoutasexternalizinganinternal

dialogue.Forexample,whenwewrite,speakorevensignwords,wedeliverthemwitha

particularstyle.Furthermore,wordsappearintheflowofaconversation,abook,a

ceremony,aperformanceandsoforth.Externalizinganinternaldialoguecapturesa

valuableaspectofthinkingandtryingthingsout,buthowwedecidetotalkaboutan

activityorprocessorevent,orhowwedeliverthattalkdependsuponourpurposes.Itis

avaluableexerciseespeciallywhenteachingorlearningtoworkoutnumerous

waystostateortoexplainwhywedowhatwedo,howwedowhatwedo,and

sometimeswhatwearedoing.

Wemightwanttoteachanathleticskill,inwhichcasewewilllikelybemorephysically

demonstrativewhenwespeakthanwhenweteach,say,mathematics.Wemightwantto

teachwriting,inwhichcasewewillbemoreattentivetoourownchoiceofwords,as

wellasastudent'swords,thaninthecaseofteachingsinging.Whenweteachsinging,

welikelywillattendtotheshapeofastudent'smouthorherposture,againactingmore

physicallydemonstrativelythaninthewritingcase.Wemightalsowanttoreportonan

event,muchasajournalistwoulddo.Ideally,areporterwilltuneherwordstoher

audience:Anewspapercolumnist,forexample,willuseadifferentvocabularythana

courtreporter.Thecolumnistaimstoparaphraseinformationsensiblytoageneral

58
audience,whereasthecourtreporteraimstocatalogtheeventsinthecourtroomclearly

andaccuratelyincaseanyoneeverneedstoreviewtheproceedings.

Evenincasualconversationweoftentrythingsout.WhenIcanpersonallyengagewith

aninterlocutor,IcanalterwhatIsayandhowIsayituntilmyinterlocutorseemstoget

mypoint.Forexample,ifIadvanceapropositiontomyfriendD.,andheremainssilent

andapuzzledexpressionovertakeshim,Irecognizethis,andIrestatemyassertionsor

questionsuntilD.nodsorshakeshisheadandresponds,forexample,Iseesoyou

mean....Sometimes,wewaitforourinterlocutorstoparaphraseourpointsinagreeable

ways,whichindicatesthatwhatwesaidmadesensetothem.Wemighttakenoteofwhat

wesaid,howwesaidit,andsoforthandusethatstyleagainundersimilarcircumstances.

Ourchoiceofwordsisasimportantasourinflection,emphasis,pacing,volume,andso

on.Whilecoachingacyclist,Imightemphasizeactive,positiveverbs:You'veridden

thiscourseahundredtimesrightnowyouwillrideyourbesttimeever!drawing

outthelastfewwordsfordramaticeffect.Whenteachingwriting,Iemphasizethe

importanceofchoosingtangiblesubjectsandactiveverbs:'It'isadifficultsubjecttopin

down,asistheactionof'is',Itellastudent.Trytorearrangeyoursentencessothatthe

subjectdoessomething,againadjustingmyinflectioninordertodrawattentionto

certainaspectsoftheinstruction.WhenItellajoke,Ipausedramatically,Igestureina

59
mockedpuzzledtone,IlettensionbuildintheaudienceandIdeliverthepunchlineat

theperfectinstant.Coaching,teaching,andtellingarethinking.

Philosophersoftenusemetaphorstotalkaboutthinking,butthesemetaphorsarenot

seedsoftheories.Wedonotsay,forexample,thatthinkingisarrangementofmental

imagesthensearchforalocationwhereonemightdisplaysuchanarrangement.Wedo

notsaythatthebrainisagalleryofmentalpicturesthenlookforaplacetohangoil

paintingsofideas.Wedonotsaythatthinkingisreadingtooneselfwithoutawritten

text,andthenproceedtoinvestigatehowitispossibletoreadinthispeculiarway

thoughanyofthesecharacterizationsmightbehelpfulguidesinparticularinvestigations

orforspecificpurposes.Ourpurposeisnottoexplainmetaphors,butrathertodescribe

whatseemtobeexoticactivitiesbyshowinghowtheyarisefromratherpedestrianones.

Wemightsay,forexample,thatthoughtsareobjectsinordertoclarifythemetaphorthat

wesometimesstoptoarrangeourthoughts.Herewetreatthoughtslikephysical(real)

thingsinordertosuggesthowarrangementhappens.Wemightusedrawingsorshapes

asrepresentationsofthoughtsandwemightmovethemaroundinphysicalspacetoshow

howwecombinethisandthatthoughtintolarger,morecomplexthoughts.Thisactivity

canbehelpfulespeciallywhenwritingbutweoverstepthelimitsofthemetaphorif

60
weinsist,forexample,thatthereactuallyarephysicalobjectscalledthoughts.Weuse

theobjectmetaphorforapurposeinthiscase,perhaps,toguideastudent'swriting

andwewouldbewrongtoinsist,withoutfurtherexplanation,thatthemetaphorextends

beyonditsoriginalpurpose,forthatpurposeiswhatmakesthemetaphorsignificant.

(Purposeisthegluethatbindsmetaphorstoourlives.)

Wittgensteinaddressesarelevanttopic:

Whatwecall'descriptions'areinstrumentsforparticularuses.Thinkofa
machinedrawing,acrosssection,anelevationwithmeasurements,which
anengineerhasbeforehim.Thinkingofadescriptionasawordpictureof
thefactshassomethingmisleadingaboutit:onetendstothinkonlyof
suchpicturesashangonourwalls:whichseemsimplytoportrayhowa
thinglooks,whatitislike.(Thesepicturesareasitwereidle.)(PI,291)

Wewanttoestablishanorderinourknowledgeoftheuseoflanguage:
anorderwithaparticularendinview;oneoutormanypossibleorders;
nottheorder.Tothisendweshallconstantlybegivingprominenceto
distinctionswhichourordinaryformsoflanguageeasilymakeus
overlook.Thismaymakeitlookasifwesawitasourtasktoreform
language.

Suchareformforparticularpracticalpurposes,animprovementinour
terminologydesignedtopreventmisunderstandingsinpractice,is
perfectlypossible.Butthesearenotthecaseswehavetodowith.The
confusionswhichoccupyusarisewhenlanguageislikeanengineidling,
notwhenitisdoingwork.(PI,132)20

20
Cf.PI38,regardinglanguagegoingonholiday,andespecially88:
IfItellsomeone'Standroughlyhere'maynotthisexplanationworkperfectly?Andcannotevery
otheronefailtoo?

61
Thesepointsariseunderdifferentcircumstancesinthetext.Theformerarisesinthe

midstofadiscussionabouthowwerecognizepainandothersimilarbehaviorsbysuch

thingsasfacialexpressions,bodilygestures,characteristicutterancesandsoforth.The

latterarisesduringaninvestigationofwhatphilosophersdo,whichisessentiallyan

investigationofphilosophicalmethods.Theparallelmetaphor,idlepictures,suggests

thatcertainphilosophicalpuzzlesarisebecausewesometimesemploylessthanhelpful

investigativemethods,andsothesolutiontothepuzzle,sometimes,istoemploya

differentmethod.Andsometimeswhenweinvestigatedifferently,puzzlesdisappear21.

Similarly,investigatingthoughtsasiftheyareobjectscanbeahelpful,guidingpicture,

butthepicturehastodosomework.Ifthepictureremainsidleifonlyasnapshot

guidesaninvestigation,wemightbemisledtothinkthatwecan(always)explainwhat

hasgoneon,includingbehaviors,intentions,expectations,meanings,tonameafew,

fromjustthatpicture.

Butisn'titaninexactexplanation?Yes;whyshouldn'twecallit'inexact'?Onlyletusunderstand
what'inexact'means.Foritdoesnotmean'unusable'.Andletusconsiderwhatwecallan'exact'
explanationincontrastwiththisone.Perhapssomethinglikedrawingachalklineroundanarea?Here
itstrikesusatoncethatthelinehasbreadth.Soacolouredgewouldbemoreexact.Buthasthis
exactnessstillgotafunctionhere:isn'ttheengineidling?Andremembertoothatwehavenotyet
definedwhatistocountasoversteppingthisexactboundary;how,withwhatinstruments,itistobe
established.Andsoon.
Also,Zettel,237:Itmightalmostbesaid:'Meaningmoves,whereasaprocessstandsstill.'
21
NotealsoPI,133:Itisnotouraimtorefineorcompletethesystemofrulesfortheuseofourwordsin
unheardofways....Thereisnotaphilosophicalmethod,thoughthereareindeedphilosophical
methods,likedifferenttherapies.

62
Apicturemightbeworthathousandwords,butathousandstoriesgivevarious

significancetowhatapicturepictures;whatwentonbeforeandafterthetimeofthe

snapshothelpsuspickoutwhichstorybestsuitsourpurposes.Saidsimilarly:usually

ourtaskistoinvestigatemovingpictures,becausepicturesinmotionresembleour

languageandourlives.Sometimesitmightseemappropriatetotreatthoughtsasfixed

objects,butespeciallyforourcurrentpedagogic,investigativepurposes,wearebestto

treatthoughtsasmovingdynamicevents22.

Thinkinghappensintheworld.Theworlddoesnotholdstillwhilewecollectour

thoughts,considerouroptions,orplanournextmove.Inphilosophy,insofarasour

objectistodescribehowwedowhatwedoandwhywedowhatwedowhich,though

anovergeneralization,isausefuloneinthiscontextthelinguistictoolsweuseto

achieveourpurposesaremorelikethoseusedbyafilmcriticthanthoseusedbyan

evaluatorofsculpture.Insofarasphilosophersinterestthemselvesinouractionsinthe

world,theirarguments,descriptions,andexplanationsarenotidle.

Yetthisdoesnotdenythepossibilityorvalueofactivelanguagefromacriticofnotin

motionart.Rodin'sTheThinkersitsinathoughtfulpose,whichcluesusintothefact

thatthinkingismorethananinternaloperation.Thinkingisalso,inthiscase,tositina
22
Cf.PI,663:
IfIsay'Imeanthim'verylikelyapicturecomestomind,perhapsofhowIlookedathim,etc.;butthe
pictureisonlylikeanillustrationtoastory.Fromitaloneitwouldmostlybeimpossibletoconclude
anythingatall;onlywhenoneknowsthestorydoesoneknowthesignificanceofthepicture.

63
certain,identifiableway,toleanone'schinonone'sfist,etc.Thesculptureisathree

dimensionalsnapshotofathinker,whichsuggeststhatifwesawthesculptureinmotion,

wewouldseethinking.Thelocalityofthinkingistheentireperson,notmerelythe

person'shidden,internaldialogue,andnotmerelyasinglerepresentationofathinking

person.ThesculptureofTheThinkercouldjustaseasilybeTheToothache,orThe

ExhaustedAthlete,orTheBoredMan,forwehavenodirectaccesstoaninternalstate

ofthesubject.Yet,weknowandidentifythathethinksthatthestatuerepresents

thinking.

IfRodincalledthesculptureTheFishermanorWinningTheMarathon,wewould

notknowwhattomakeofit;wewouldnotgetRodin'spoint.Obviouslythefigureisnot

inthemidstoforisnotarepresentationoffishingorrunning.Perhapshejust

finishedfishingandislookingathiscatch,orperhapsthisisastrangemarathonwhere

thewinneristhefirsttostrikethisposeafterrunning26.2miles.Butthese

interpretationsreadmoreintothesculpturethanseemsappropriate.OnegetsThe

Thinkerinstantly23.

23
Cf.PI,139(b):Iseeapicture;itrepresentsanoldmanwalkingupasteeppathleaningonastick.
How?Mightitnothavelookedjustthesameifhehadbeenslidingdownhillinthatposition?
PerhapsaMartianwoulddescribethepictureso.Idonotneedtoexplainwhywedonotdescribeit
so.

64
Ifwemetapersonwhosesocalledinternaldialoguesuddenlybecameexternalhe

nowsaysaloudallthathewouldordinarilyhavesaidtohimselfwewouldwitnesshis

thinkingstyle24.Wewouldbeabletoevaluate,onthesurfaceasitwere,theinflectionof

hiswords,hispacing,hispausing,hisstumblingandhesitations,andwhatwewouldcall

histhinkingwouldincludeallofthesedescriptionsofhisthinkingoutloud.Moreover,

thiswouldbeatangibleexampleofthefactthatwedeliverourinternaldialoguesina

particularstyle;wehesitateliketheoutloudthinker,wesquinchupourbrows,welean

heavilyonourfists,wegesturetoourselves,andthisshowsinourhumanactivities.

WittgensteinaddressesaparallelpointinTheBlueBook,whichisacollectionofnotes

fromhisclassesatCambridgebetween19331934.Thetextcontainssomeofhisfirst

writingsaboutsuchthingsaslanguagegamesandmeaninginaformthatwould

eventuallydevelopintohisopus,PhilosophicalInvestigations.InTheBlueBook

Wittgensteinsuggestsvariousproblemsthatarisewhenwelocatethinkinginthehead

andsuggeststhesignificanceoflocatingthinkingelsewhere:

Itismisleadingthentotalkofthinkingasofamentalactivity.
Wemaysaythatthinkingisessentiallytheactivityofoperatingwith
24
Cf.PI,II.xi,esp.p2202:
Silent'internal'speechisnotahalfhiddenphenomenonwhichisasitwereseenthroughaveil.Itis
nothiddenatall,buttheconceptmayeasilyconfuseus,foritrunsoveralongstretchcheekbyjowl
withtheconceptofan'outward'process,andyetdoesnotcoincidewithit.
...Thecloserelationshipbetween'sayinginwardly'and'saying'ismanifestedinthepossibilityof
tellingoutloudwhatonesaidinwardly,andofanoutwardaction'saccompanyinginwardspeech.(I
cansinginwardly,orreadsilently,orcalculateinmyhead,andbeattimewithmyhandasIdoso.)

65
 signs.Thisactivityisperformedbythehand,whenwethinkbywriting;
bythemouthandlarynx,whenwethinkbyspeaking;andifwethinkby
imaginingsignsorpictures,Icangiveyounoagentthatthinks.Ifthen
yousaythatinsuchcasesthemindthinks,Iwouldonlydrawyour
attentiontothefactthatyouareusingametaphor,thatherethemindisthe
agentinadifferentsensefromthatinwhichthehandcanbesaidtobethe
agentinwriting.
Ifagainwetalkaboutthelocalitywherethinkingtakesplacewe
havearighttosaythatthislocalityisthepaperonwhichwewriteorthe
mouthwhichspeaks.Andifwetalkoftheheadorthebrainasthelocality
ofthought,thisisusingtheexpressionlocalityofthinkinginadifferent
sense.Letusexaminewhatarethereasonsforcallingtheheadtheplace
ofthinking.Itisnotourintentiontocriticizethisformofexpression,orto
showthatitisnotappropriate.Whatwemustdois:understandits
working,itsgrammar,e.g.seewhatrelationthisgrammarhastothatof
theexpressionwethinkwithourmouth,orwethinkwithapencilona
pieceofpaper.
Perhapsthemainreasonwhywearesostronglyinclinedtotalkof
theheadasthelocalityofourthoughtsisthis:theexistenceofthewords
thinkingandthoughtalongsideofthewordsdenoting(bodily)
activities,suchaswriting,speaking,etc.,makesuslookforanactivity,
differentfromthesebutanalogoustothem,correspondingtotheword
thinking...(67).

Wittgensteinaddressesaconfusionabouthowweusethewordsthoughtandlocality,

andworkstoclarifythoseconfusionsbypointingouthowweusethesewordsindifferent

sensesinordinarytalk.Moreoverwelearnlessonsbynoticinghowweerr,orhowwords

sometimesleadusastray25.Ourparalleltaskistoclarifywhatcountsasthinkingby

showingthatwhenwethink,wehavemorethananinternalmonologue:weinteractwith

theworldincertain,identifiableways,andallofthatactivity,takentogether,iswhatwe

callthinking.Whatwecallthinkingisabundlingofmanyactivities,oftenincluding

25
WewillreturntothispointinmoredetailinInTheHeadandSelfEvaluation.

66
internalmonologue.Learningtoidentifythoughtfulactionsisacompetencethatwe

developintheworld.

Thatwecancallthinkingabundlingofactivitiesdoesnotmeanthatwecanjustaseasily

unbundlethinkingandfigureoutwhatitis.Wemightunbundleforaparticularpurpose,

buttheresultsofthatinvestigationaretiedtoitspurpose.Again,here,ourpurposeisto

buildskills.

Forsomespecificpurpose,wemightpickoutasingleaspectofourthinking,suchasa

reportofthewordsthatweuseinourinternalmonologue,andsimplycallthatthinking.

Weusethewordthinkinganditsvarioussynonymsinawidevarietyofways(with

differentmeaningsinmind),andthewaythatweusethewordonanygivenoccasion

dependsuponourpurposes.Ourpurposehereistoshowwhatsortsofactivitiesand

practiceshelptoimproveparticularskills,andsoforourpurposes,weareinterestedin

farmorethanreportsofwords.Weareinterestedinhowweimprovetheprocessof

reportingandhowwedevelopaclear,appealingreportingstyle.Ifweconceiveof

thinkingasanactivitysolelylocatedintheheadandifweoveremphasizereportingthe

dialoguethatgoesoninourheads,thenwewilloverlookpracticalaspectsofthinking

thatweneedtoidentifyandtoexerciseifwearetosharpenour(philosophical)thinking

skillsandtechniques.Thesepracticalmattersareoftenwhatmakesourthinking

interestingandimportant.

67
Asapointofcontrast,ifwesatinaroomlookingateachother,silentandblankfaced,

withbooksinfrontofus,wewouldnotsayconfidentlyofoneanother:Heisthinking

aboutthetext.Imightsayofyouthatyouarezonedout,orthatyouhavesomething

onyourmindorthatyouaredistracted,andsoon.Butwhenyouaskmefor

interpretationsofthetext,whenyouquizmeonitscontents,whenyouinquireabout

whatItaketobethemainthemes,andsoon,thenwearethinkingaboutthetext.Our

thinkingisreactiontooneanother;itisengagementwithoneanother;itistryingout

ideasanddevelopingnewonesinconversation.Thinking,thatis,derivesitsvalueasa

conceptfromwhathappensintheworld26.

26
Cf.PI,693:'WhenIteachsomeonetheformationoftheseries....Isurelymeanhimtowrite....atthe
hundredthplace.'Quiteright;youmeanit.Andevidentlywithoutnecessarilyeventhinkingofit.
Thisshewsyouhowdifferentthegrammaroftheverb'tomean'isfromthatof'tothink'.Andnothing
ismorewrongheadedthancallingmeaningamentalactivity!Unless,thatis,oneissettingoutto
produceconfusion.(Itwouldbepossibletospeakofanactivityofbutterwhenitrisesinprice,andif
noproblemsareproducedbythisitisharmless.)
Thisstandsoutbecauseitemphasizeshowourpurposesaffectthesignificanceofwhatwesay,ofwhat
wethink,ofwhatweexpect,ofhowwefolloworders,andsoforth.

68
4.Improvisation,Innovation&Intention

Whereweconnectworduseandmeaningtoimprovisation,developa
vocabularytotalkabouthowwerecognizeusefulandnoveltechniques,
anddevelopourtechnicaluseofget.

Followup:13.InTheHead,whereweinvestigateconcernsthatoften
arisewhenwetrytocharacterizeintentions,orwhenwetalkabout
evaluation

Sometimeswesharpenourthinkingskillsbyexpressingfamiliarideasinavarietyof

ways.Forexample,acommonexerciseinimprovisationalcomedyistohaveactors

performagivensceneasitwouldplayindifferentgenres.Perhapsthegivensceneis

strandedinalifeboat:aninstructormighthavetheactorsperformasiftheyareina

noirfilm,thenhavethemswitchtoShakespeareantragedy,thentomadcapcomedy,and

soforth.Theexerciseaimstochallengetheactorsskillsbymakingthemperformin

waysthattheyordinarilywouldnot.Indoingthis,actorsdiscoverwhatworksanddoes

notwork,orwhattheyaregoodatdoinginimprovisationalcomedy,byinspiringthemto

tryoutinnovativedeliveriesofgenericmaterial.Theyimprovetheirimprovisationaland

actingskillsthroughexerciseslikethis27.

Philosopherscanexercisesimilarly.Wittgensteinusedavarietyofexpressivestylesin

hiswritings:fromdialoguetodiatribe,herepeatedfamiliartopicsandthemesinorderto

27
SpeakingabouthisfirstdirectingjobonthefilmCaddyshack,HaroldRamisdescribesthecasts'useof
improvisationasamethod:Wealwaystrustedimprovisation.Weneverfeltlikewewerejustad
libbingorwingingit.It'sanactualtechniqueandamethodthatallowsyoutocreatematerialinstantly.
Andit'snotjustgrabbedoutofthinair;youactuallyplanwhatyou'regoingtodo.It'slikehavinga
scriptwithoutfinisheddialogue.(@~7:30intothe19thHoleinterview.)

69
showhowphilosophicaltopics(problems)ariseinavarietyofwaysduringournormal

interactionswithandthoughtsabouttheworld.

Sometimeswecomeupwithinnovativeideasbysimplyrearrangingfamiliarones.

Wittgensteinsinvestigativestyleincludestryingoutfreshexpressionsoffamiliarideas,

andarrangingthemincleverways.Withthistechnique,hegeneratesnoveland

illuminatingexemplificationsofapparentlyintractablycomplicatedphenomenalike

meaning,understanding,sensation,intention,andexpectation,tonameafew28.Inthis

sense,Wittgensteinsarrangementchoicesareasmuchpartofhisworkscontentasare

hiswordchoices,andthosewhostudyhimshouldpayattentiontothisaspectofhis

works29.

28
Forexample,hesuggeststhatourabilitytoidentifycolorsthatwehavenotseenourabilitytodescribeortochoose
betweenortocompareshadesofcolorsisanexampleofourthinking,andthisisareasonabletopictoinvestigate
philosophically.Cf.PI383:Wearenotanalysingaphenomenon(e.g.,thought)butaconcept
(e.g.,thatofthinking),andthereforetheuseofaword.Heemphasizesourabilitytoidentify
colorsthatwehaveneverseenbefore,andthissortofidentificationabilityresemblesour
competencewithimprovisation.Inbothcases,withpracticewecangetquitegoodattrying
thingsoutwordcombinations,identificationsofobscurecolors,physicalfeats,andsoforth.
Also,PI388:'Idon'tseeanythingviolethere,butIcanshewityouifyougivemeapaintbox.'
Howcanoneknowthatonecanshewitif....,inotherwords,thatonecanrecognizeitifone
seesit?
HowdoIknowfrommyimage,whatthecolourreallylookslike?
HowdoIknowthatIshallbeabletodosomething?thatis,thatthestateIaminnowisthat
ofbeingabletodothatthing?
Wewilladdresssimilartopicslaterinaparallelsection:InTheHead.
29
Quoteandinterpret,inthissense,isoftenthewrongtooltousetoinvestigateWittgensteinsworks,
asittypicallypayslessattentiontothecontextofaquoteratheremphasizingthecontent,asif
contentandcontextnevermingle.

70
Wittgenstein'sposthumouslypublishedRemarksOnColorillustrateshiscareful

arrangementchoices.Thetext,byandlarge,examinestherelationshipsbetweencolor

andmeaningbydescribinghowwelearncolorwords.Thewaythatwedescribethe

colorsofthingsintheworldparallelshowwedescribethemeaningsofwordsinour

language.Wetrythingsoutontheflywecombinewordsinnewanddifferentways,

andweareabletoidentifycolorsthatwehaveneverphysicallyseen.Wecreatecontent

inthemoment,andweimproveourskillsatdoingthisbytryingandfailing,bytrying

andsucceeding,and,importantly,bydevelopingasenseofwhatcountsasfailureand

whatcountsassuccess.

RemarksOnColorisbrokenintothreesections,wheresectionIandsectionIIIare

rearrangementsofeachother.WemightsaythatWittgenstein'srearrangementofthe

materialhelpstohighlightdifferentaspectsofthetext'smainthemes.Inparticular,he

highlightsoursensesofhowcolorsfittogether,orofwhatcolorsaresortofthiscolor

orsortofthatcolor,orourabilitytopickoutparticularcolorsthathaveonlybeen

describedtousandthatwehaveneverseen.

Thewaysthatwetreatcolorsresemblesourtreatmentofthemeaningsofwords.For

example,ifsomeoneasksustopickoutburntorange(assumingthatwehavenever

heardacolordescribedasburntorange),wecanimaginehowasortofburntcolor

andasortoforangecolormightcombineintoonecolorandwecanpickoutasample.

71
Wecanmarrythemeaningsofburntandorangeinstantly.Ourabilitytocombine

meaningsonthespotisanimportantaspectofourlanguagecompetence;itis(perhaps)

thecompetencethatallowsforlearning.Inanycase,ourabilitytodothisisessentially

animprovisationalskill.Learningtoreformthoughts,ideas,notionsandsoforthinthe

momentispartofbecomingacompetentlanguageuserandphilosophyisaspecific

linguisticcompetenceinwhichwedosuchthingsallthetime.

Todevelopavocabularyisoftentolearnhowthiswordandthatwordcombinein

sensiblewaystoconveysensiblethoughts.Philosophersoftenparaphraseoneanotherin

conversationwhentheytrytomakesenseofeachothers'ideas.Forexample,Imightsay

tomycolleagueD.:Whensomeoneasksmeforthemeaningofaword,heisaskingme

howtousethewordcorrectlyinasentence.

D.mightrespond:Sure,sometimesthat'swhattheywant,butsometimestheywantyou

tosaywhyyoupickedthatword.

Youmeanits'significance'?

Yes,whichiscertainlypartoftheuseofaword.It'smoresubtlethanjustaquestionof

grammar.

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Ididn'tmean'use'tobesomethinggrammatical,unlessweinclude'sense'and

'significance'inourmeaningof'grammar'.

That'smoreorlesshowWittgensteinusesit.Hemakesitatechnicalterm,sowhydon't

weagreetouseitsimilarly....

Thedialoguecouldcontinuewiththeinterlocutorsrefiningtheirusesofsignificance,

meaning,andgrammaruntiltheyarereadilyabletousethetermsinsensible,

technicalwayswithoneanother.Theywillhavecombined(ormarried,orunioned)

varioususesandmeaningsofrathermundanewordsintotermsofart.Theybecome

competentwithanewvocabulary,whichtheyinventedthroughaprocessakinto

improvisation.Philosophersoftenexercisethesesortsoflinguisticskillsandrecordtheir

exercisesinbooksorpapersmuchaswearedoinghere.Theydevelopcommon

vocabulariestohelpmakesenseofspecificphilosophicalproblems.

Wittgensteindeliberatelydevelopedanovelforminhisearlywork.Inhisbiographyof

Wittgenstein,TheDutyOfGenius,RayMonkdiscussesWittgenstein'srefusaltoalterthe

formofhisfirstwork,TheTractatusLogicoPhilosophicus,againstrecommendations

thathewouldneedtoinordertomakeitpublishable.TheTractatusisabriefbut

73
notoriouslydense,nearlyimpenetrableseriesofcarefullynumbered,terseremarksabout

suchtopicsaslogic,language,ethics,andtheworld.MonkquotesthereactiontoThe

TractatusofoneofWittgenstein'smentors,GottlobFrege.FregewasaGerman

philosopherwhoseworkinlogicincludedearlydevelopmentofapredicatecalculus

andformalizedproofs,allofwhichreliedonanuancedviewofhowlanguageplaysa

roleinsuchactivities.Fregesays:

Thepleasureofreadingyourbookcanthereforenolongerbearousedby
thecontentwhichisalreadyknown,butonlybythepeculiarformgivento
itbytheauthor.Thebooktherebybecomesanartisticratherthana
scientificachievement;whatissaidinittakessecondplacetothewayin
whichitissaid(FregequotedinMonk,174).

WittgensteinvigorouslyrejectsFrege'ssuggestionthathebreaktheworkintoarticlesor

morecoherentsectionsinordertomakeitmoreaccessibletothereader.Toapotential

publisher,Wittgensteinstates:

Itisquitestrictlyspeakingthepresentationofasystem.Andthis
presentationisextremelycompressedsinceIhaveonlyretainedinitthat
whichreallyoccurredtomeandhowitoccurredtome....

Theworkisstrictlyphilosophicalandatthesametimeliterary,butthereis
nobabblinginit(WittgensteinquotedinMonk,177).

TheseexchangessuggestthatWittgensteinwaswellawarethathisworkintroduceda

formalnovelty,especiallyinthefieldofphilosophy,andthatitsformwaspartofits

content.Alteringtheform,heapparentlythought,wouldvandalizethecontent.

74
Wittgensteinretainedasensitivitytoforminhislaterworkaswell.Lessrigidand

systematic,hespecificallyemphasizedthesignificanceofarrangement,thoughhe

remainedconsistentlyunhappywiththeresults.Monkreportsthatuponreviewofsome

thesesthathehaddictated:...Wittgensteinbecamedissatisfiedwiththeirformulation,

whichhecametoregardassharingthemistakendogmatismoftheTractatus.Indeed,

Wittgensteinwasdevelopingaconceptionofphilosophywithoutanythesesatall(296).

Furthermore,regardingWittgenstein'seditingandarrangingmethods:

Wittgensteinhadapeculiarlylaboriousmethodofeditinghiswork.He
beganbywritingremarksintosmallnotebooks.Hethenselectedwhathe
consideredtobethebestoftheseremarksandwrotethemout,perhapsin
adifferentorder,intolargemanuscriptvolumes.Fromthesehemadea
furtherselection,whichhedictatedtoatypist.Theresultanttypescript
wasthenusedasthebasisforafurtherselection,sometimesbycuttingit
upandrearrangingitandthenthewholeprocesswasstartedagain.
(Monk,319).

AswithTheTractatus,Wittgenstein'snowrevisedmethodsresultedinanothernovel

philosophicalform,thistimewithouttheses,moreboldlyrepetitive,andloadedwith

examples.Heoftenusedreallife,tangibleexamplestoillustratehowphilosophical

puzzlesarisefromourordinaryinteractionswiththeworldfromfollowingsimple

orders,fromdoingsimplecalculations,fromfeelingatoothache,andsoon.Thesortsof

examplesthatheintegratedintohisworkwerenotofthesamenatureasthoseofhis

contemporaries.Monknotesthat[h]etookhisexamples,however,notfrom

75
philosophersbutfromordinaryspeech.Andwhenhequotedfromliterature,itwasnot

fromthegreatphilosophicalworks,norfromthephilosophicaljournalMind,butfrom

Street&Smith'sDetectiveStoryMagazine(Monk,355).Monklaternotesthatthe

ethosofthehardboileddetectivecoincideswithWittgenstein'sown:theyboth,intheir

differentways,descrytheimportanceofthe'scienceoflogic',exemplifiedintheonecase

by[BertrandRussell's]PrincipiaMathematicaandintheotherbySherlockHolmes

(Monk,423).

Giventhisbackground,wecanbetterunderstandwhatWittgensteinaimedtoaccomplish

inhiswritings.Likethedetective,hecollectedcluestomysteriesinhiscase,hewrote

remarksaimedtoclarifyphilosophicalpuzzlesandhearrangedthosecluesthose

remarkssotobetterunderstandhowhemightsolvethepuzzleathand.Puzzle

solving,forWittgenstein,tooktheformofeliminationofproblemsbylearninghow

philosophicalproblemsoftenariseoutofourillusionsaboutordinarytalk.Ordinary

stylesofinvestigationaretheappropriatemethodsormodelstodealwithsuchproblems.

Detectiveseliminatesuspectsbyevaluatingalibisandbyspinningstoriesabouthowthe

evidencehangstogether,oftenchoosingthebestexplanationastheconclusiontothe

whodunit.Detectivescollectandstudyclues,reenactcrimes,visitscenes,andsoforth.

Wittgensteinthinksinasimilarfashion:hewritesandcollectsversionsofideas,arranges

theminwhatappeartobesensibleways,andconsidershowordinary,tangiblesentiments

76
developintointractable,abstractthesesandmisleadinglygeneralconcepts.Indoingso,

Wittgensteindevelopstechniquesheimprovesuponhisinvestigativemethodsby

noticingwhatworksandwhatdoesnotwork,bynoticingwhatseemstoanswera

questionclearly,whatseemstomuddletheissue,whatseemstoassuageamental

cramp,andsoon.

WittgensteinnotesinPhilosophicalInvestigations:

308.Howdoesthephilosophicalproblemaboutmentalprocessesand
statesandaboutbehaviourismarise?Thefirststepistheonethat
altogetherescapesnotice.Wetalkofprocessesandstatesandleavetheir
natureundecided.Sometimeperhapsweshallknowmoreaboutthem
wethink.Butthatisjustwhatcommitsustoaparticularwayoflooking
atthematter.Forwehaveadefiniteconceptofwhatitmeanstolearnto
knowaprocessbetter.(Thedecisivemovementintheconjuringtrickhas
beenmade,anditwastheveryonethatwethoughtquiteinnocent.)
Andnowtheanalogywhichwastomakeusunderstandourthoughtsfalls
topieces.Sowehavetodenytheyetuncomprehendedprocessintheyet
unexploredmedium.Andnowitlooksasifwehaddeniedmental
processes.Andnaturallywedon'twanttodenythem.

309.Whatisyouraiminphilosophy?Toshewtheflythewayoutof
theflybottle.

Certainphilosophicalpuzzlesarisewhenwetalkofstatesandprocessesoradopt

thesewordsastechnicaltermswithoutfirstinvestigatingwhatstatesandprocesses

are,orwhy(andhow)weusethesewordsinthefirstplace.(Thissortofinvestigation

77
mightlooklikethedialogueabovewhereDandIdevelopincreasinglytechnicalusesof

meaning,significance,use,andgrammar.)

Inphilosophy,wesometimeswonderaboutmentalstates,andweproceedto

investigatewhatitisthatmakesastatemental.Wittgensteinrecommendsthatinthis

casewefirstneedtounderstandwhatwecallastate.Tounderstandthis,weinvestigate

examplesofwhatwecallstates;wecollectexamplesofouruseofthewordstatein

action,wearrangethoseexamplesorelaborateonthoseexamplesinusefulways,and

throughthisexercise,weunderstandstates.(Thisresembleswhatwehavedonehere

withthinking.)

Throughthisprocesscollectingandrearrangingcluesandevidencebygenerating

contentontheflyasitwereourpuzzleaboutstatesmightdisappear30.Theflybottle

metaphorillustratesthedifficultyofgettingtheproblemthatonefaces:thebottlepuzzles

theflybecausethebottlethwartshisnormalexitstrategyflyingaround.Ifhedeviated

fromhisnormalpathonlyslightly,andflewup,thebottlewouldnolongerappeartobea

trap.Tonoticethisisnottodenythatthereisabottle,ratheritisrecognizewhat

problemthebottleposes.Wittgensteinsuggeststhatweconsiderpuzzlesaboutstates

andsuchthesameway:wedonotdenystatesthroughourinvestigations.Rather,we

oftencometobetterunderstandwhatpuzzlesusinthefirstplacebyreviewingthe

30
Thoughitmightremain,dependingonhowwearrangedourinvestigation,whichdependsonwhywe
begananinvestigationinthefirstplace.

78
problemdifferentlythanwehaveinthepastandoftenourpuzzlewillsimply

disappear31.

Ananalogyillustrates:Iattempttodirectandtorecordaspokeninterpretationofa

writtenscript32.Ipicturehowitshouldsoundtheinflection,theemphasis,thepacing,

andsoon.Idescribethispicturetothespeaker.Hethenreadsthescriptintoa

microphoneinastylethathethinksmatchesmydescription.Webothhavehesitations

abouttheperformance.Welistentotherecording.Wediscussitssuccessesandits

failures.Irevisemydescriptionandhereviseshisperformanceinanefforttocodifyour

discussionaboutthefirsttry.Thereareaspectsofthefirstperformancethatwewantto

incorporateintothenext,andonemeasureofsuccesswillbewhethereachofus

recognizessimilaraspectsinsubsequenttakes.

Werecordagainandtheprocesscontinues.Aftermanyattempts,thereaderdecidesto

standatthemicrophoneratherthantosit,whichopensupbothhisbodyandhis

performancephysicallyandmetaphorically.Thenextperformance,weagree,isthe

best.Success,inthiscase,reliedpartlyonstandingup,whichwasanimprovised

novelty,andisnowarecognizabletechniquethatwemightagainsuccessfullyemploy

andevenimproveupon.Itseemsplausiblethatsomeversionofthistechniquemight

helpustoworkthroughafutureperformanceblock.
31
Thisthemewillrecur,especiallyinUndoingandDevelopingHabits.
32
Cf.PI,272ff.,esp.280.AlsoInTheHeadandSelfEvaluationlaterinthistext.

79
Inthiscase,thesatisfyingfinalproductresultsfromcobblingtogethermanysuccessful

aspectsofvarioustechniquesandversionsthatwetriedout.Thisprocessisthinking,

writtangibly.Philosophicalthinkingresemblesthiscase,especiallyinthenonverbal

techniquesorhabitsthatcontributetosuccessfulperformance.Establishedhabitsmight

includehavingacupofcoffeebeforestartingtowrite,toreadpapersaloudinprivateor

tosmallgroups,topacebackandforthwhileconversingwithanimaginaryinterlocutor,

todeliveranofficialaddresstoacommittee,andsoforth.Philosophersachieve

satisfyingresultsthroughtheirindividual,peculiarpracticesofreading,writing,and

teaching,andastheyrecognizeanddevelopsuccessfulthinkingandlearningtechniques.

Andasabove,theydeveloptechnicalvocabularies(muchaswearetryingtodohere).

Onedevelopsaspokendeliveryofascriptbymakingitone'sownbyperformingit

publicly,overandover,evaluatingwhatworks,andtherebydevelopinganidentifiable

andeffectivestyleofdelivery.Inaclearenoughrecording,wemightevenhearthe

performer'stechnique:say,forexample,thatwerecordedamusician'sperformancewith

amicrophonethatissensitiveenoughtopickupassortedbackgroundsoundsinthe

studio.Ifwelistenclosely,wemighthearthenoiseofclothingmoving,orshuffling

sheetmusic,orwemighthearanamplifiedrenditionoftheperformer'sbreathing.

Perhapsasingermoveshisheadinacertainwayduringtheperformance,andwecan

80
detectthisbyslightbutregularvariationsinhisvocalvolume:hewasnearerorfurther

fromthemicrophoneashedancedthroughhisperformance.

Justaswecandescribeanddrawinferencesaboutaperformer'svocaltechnique,wecan

describeanddrawinferencesaboutaphilosopher'sthinkingtechniques.Andinboth

cases,westudymuchmorethanjustwords(orcontent).Westudydelivery,

arrangement,tone,shape,colorandsoonandthesemetaphoricaspectsofwritten

performanceshelpustoorganizeandunderstandboththecontentoftheperformanceand

theperformer'sintentions.Thisisgettingit.Gettingitissometimestosympathize(or

empathize)withaperformer'spersonalrituals,whichisoftenafeelingthatwegetwhen

wetrythingsoutforourselves,orevenimagineorpictureourselvestryingsortofa

firstpersonunderstanding:ofcourse,aha,andobviouslyalsocaptureaspectsof

theterm.Forexample,astageperformanceistortured,electrifying,understated,

devastatingdependingonhowconvincinglytheactorconveyshowweshouldfeel,and

howwellwerespondtohisdelivery.

Gettingitispurposesensitive.Thishelpsustoavoidproblemswithreallygettingit.

Forexample,IhavenotreadeverywordthatWittgensteineverwrote;Ihavenotlivedin

Norwayhedid;Icannotwhistleconcertoshecould;Ihaveneverbeenaprisonerof

warhewas;etc.Yet,IcanstillgetWittgenstein'smethod,hisintentions,his

philosophicalsympathies,andsoon,becauseIstudyhisworkswithaparticularpurpose

81
inmind.Idonotstudyhiminordertobehim(toreallygethim),butrathertolearn

lessonsfromhismethodology,todevelopaphilosophicalstyleofmyown,andto

developwaystoapplythatmethodologytoaddresscontemporaryissues.Ilearnthatthis

conceptandthatconcept(meaninganduse,perhaps)areconnected,andthattotalkabout

thatconnectionistodophilosophy.

GilbertRylewasacontemporaryofWittgensteinandwellknownforhisantiDualist

position,inwhichhedeniesthatweshouldtreatmindandbodyseparately.He

suggeststhatwhatwecallmentalphenomena,likethinking,intending,andsoforth,are

notmysterious,inaccessiblephenomenacontrolledbythemind.Rather,wecandescribe

thinking,intending,knowing,meaning,andexpectinginthesamewaysthatwedescribe

overtlyphysicalactionslikethrowing,playing,andmoving.InhisTheConceptOf

Mind,heoffersthefollowingrelevantobservation:

Thispoint,thatthecapacitytoappreciateaperformanceisonetypewith
thecapacitytoexecuteit,illustratesacontentionpreviouslyargued,
namelythatintelligentcapacitiesarenotsingletrackdispositions,butare
dispositionsadmittingofawidevarietyofmoreorlessdissimilar
exercises.Itishowevernecessarytomaketwoprovisos.First,the
capacitytoperformandtoappreciateanoperationdoesnotnecessarily
involvetheabilitytoformulatecriticismsorlessons.Awelltrainedsailor
boycanbothtiecomplexknotsanddiscernwhethersomeoneelseistying
themcorrectlyorincorrectly,deftlyorclumsily.Butheisprobably
incapableofthedifficulttaskofdescribinginwordshowtheknotsshould

82
 betied.And,second,theabilitytoappreciateaperformancedoesnot
involvethesamedegreeofcompetenceastheabilitytoexecuteit.Itdoes
nottakegeniustorecognizegenius,andagooddramaticcriticmaybe
indifferentasanactororplaywright.Therewouldbenoteachersorpupils
iftheabilitytounderstandoperationsrequiredcompleteabilitytoperform
them.Pupilsaretaughthowtodothingsbypeoplewhoknowbetterthan
theyhowtodothem.(Ryle,56)

Togetthefeelingofamusicalcomposition,togetwhatisfunnyaboutajoke,togetwhat

aphilosophertriestoarguedoesnotrequirethatthestudentofthecomposition,thejoke,

ortheargumentbeascompetentastheprofessionaltheyneednothavethesame

intentionsorcompetences.Sometimesthinkingisovertlyphysical:wewitnessand

graspthinkingwhenweseeasailortieaknot,forexample.Sure,thetaskof

describinghowhetiesaknotdiffersfromtheactualtyingitmightevenbemore

difficult,insomesense,asRyleassertsbutneitheractivityismoreorlessfullof

thoughtthantheother.Bothtyingaknotandwritingabouttyingaknotarecomplex

activities,thoughinobviouslydifferentways,butbothcertainlyrequireorexpress

thoughts.(Considerthatbotharedeliberateactions,andearlierweconnectedourgrasp

ofdeliberateactions,ordeliberation,withthinking.)

Whatstudentsgetdependsupontheirpurposes.Somestudentswilllistentoamusical

performancetopickuphintsabouthowtoplayacompositionbetter.Otherstudentswill

listentothesameperformancetolearnaboutthestructureofmusicalcompositions.

Otherstudentswilllistentothesameperformancetolearnhowtoidentifythecomposer's

83
style.Andtheycanallaccomplishthesetaskswithoutbeingablethemselvestomimic

theperformanceinquestionwhichsomemightsaywouldbetoreallygetit.Wecan

saythatstudents,critics,andobserversgetaperformance,ajoke,anargumentwhenthey

reactreasonably,whentheygasporguffawattherightmoments,whentheyrecognize

theinescapabilityofaconclusiongivensomepremises,whentheyexhibitsimilar

qualitiesintheirownperformances,jokesorarguments,andsoon.

Andallofthiswhichaspectsofaperformanceweevaluate,howfunnywefindthe

joke,howcleartheargumentdependsheavilyonourhumanpurposes,andour

graspingtheintentionsoftheperformer.Partofourtaskasteachingphilosophersisto

showstudentshowtounderstandwhatwesaytothem,orwhattheyread,orwhatcounts

asavalidmoveinanargument,andsoforth.

Sometimesgettingitmanifestsitselfasappropriatereaction,asinlaughingatajokeor

keepingasecret.Sometimesgettingitmeanstobeabletoreproduceanaction,asin

gettinghowtoplaylegatoonpiano.Butwedonotalwaysexpectthatthepersonwho

getsitcanreproducetheactionorresultsthathegets.Atacomedyshow,forexample,

thoughtheaudiencegetsthejoke,theyarenotgoingtobeabletotellthejokelikethe

seasonedcomedian.Comedyisnotforamateurs33.

33
ThisuseofgetisagoodexampleofthetechnicaldistinctionIwouldliketomakefrom
understanding.

84
Similarly,wedonotexpectthatanovicephilosophystudentwillbeabletoproducea

majorwork,orwriteaboundtobeclassicpaper.Yetwereasonablyexpectthatthe

novicestudentwillunderstandwhatitisliketoanswerphilosophicalquestions,andwhat

sortsofquestionswewouldcallphilosophical.Wereasonablyexpectthatthestudent

sharpenshisskillssufficientlytoatleastexpressafewinsightsintothetopicathand

weexpectthatthestudentcanexpresswhatheunderstands.Wealsoexpectthatstudents

learnhowtopracticetheactivitythattheyareworkingonandwhatsortsoftechniques

mightimprovetheirperformances.

Studentsandprofessionalsalikesharpentheirskillsbytryingnewdeliveriesand

arrangementsoffamiliarmaterial.Theactorwhocanextractalaughandatearfromthe

samedialogueisanobviouslyskilledandwellpracticedperformer.Thephilosopher

whoseexamplesandprose,uponrearrangement,highlightawiderangeofaspectsofa

puzzleisawellpracticedwriterandcommunicatorandthinker.Theactor'sandthe

philosopher'sintentionsaremetaphoricallywrittenintheirperformances.Theysharpen

theirskillsbytryingthingsoutandbypracticingatthelimitsofthoseskills.

85
5.Practice&Constraints

Whereweconsiderthesignificanceoftheenvironmentinwhichwe
practiceourskills,whichmightincludethelimitationsofwritten
instruction(suchaswithsheetmusic),orlimitationsoftheactivitythatwe
practice(suchasthemotionsnecessarytopropelabicycle).Thisstarts
tosuggesthowwemightunderstandthesignificanceandlimitationsof
ourtechnicaluseofthewordconcept.

Followup:12.LearningToPerceive,whereweexaminethe
relationshipsbetweenlearningtoobserveanewactivity,improvingones
ownskillswiththatactivity,andcomingtounderstandtheactivity's
standards.

Tolearnpiano,wegetusedtodoingthingswithourhandsthatwedonotordinarilydo,

andatthesametime,welearntolistentomusicinnewways.Learningpianoislike

pickingupacomplicatedhabit:warmingup,sittinginaparticularposition,keepingthe

wristsraised,andsoonareallaspectsofpianoplayingthatarenotthemselveswhatwe

wouldcallplayingpiano.Buttheyareaspectsofpianoplayingthatwesometimes

emphasizewhenwepracticepiano.Weperformcertainactions,likepressingkeysor

lookingatsheetmusic,andcountingoutbeatsorhummingvocallines.Butthese

movements,behaviorsandwordsarenot,takenbythemselves,playingpiano.We

practicespecificaspectsofpianoplaying,butplayingpianocomprisesmorethanwhat

wepractice.

86
Pianoplayingmovementsusuallyhappeninaneasilyidentifiablecontext.Ifwesaw

someonetypingonatypewriterwithhiswristsraisedlikeapianist,wewouldnotsay

thatthetypistisbothtypingandpracticingpiano,unlessotherconsiderationsmadesense

ofthatcharacterizationhemighthumaparticularnoteeverytimehehitsaparticular

letterandwemightrecognizethatthenoteshehumscorrespondtothelocationofthe

keysonapianokeyboard.Wemightrecognizeinhispianoplayerlikebehaviorthathe

istryingoutamelodyorpracticingasongalbeitinwhatwethinkisastrangeway.

Undernormalcircumstances,weeasilydistinguishtypingfromplayingpiano,even

thoughbothactivitiesinvolvesimilarfingermotions.

Whenapianoplayerintendstoimprovehisskills,hispracticingisnotsimplyhabitual

behavior.Weimproveaskillwhenweoperateatourlimitswhenwepushourselves

todobetterthanever.Westrugglewithourlimitations,orsometimeswerelaxourways

outofamentalslump.Welearntooperateeffectivelywithinanactivity'sconstraints.

Wetrytechniquesthatwehavenevertriedbefore.Weexperiment.Again,examples

illustratethesemetaphors.

Agradeonepianotextguidesstudentsbyextendingtheirlimitsthroughtrainingandby

tryingnovelexercises.Firstthetextandtheteachershowstudentssuchthingsassimple

fingerexercises,scales,andchords.Inearlylessons,studentslearntoreadnotes,to

recognizeintervalsbothbysightandbyear,tounderstandbasicchordstructure,andso

87
on.Eachnewlessonintroducesanideaoratechniquethatliesjustoutsideofthe

student'scompetence.Eachlessonoffersthestudentanewskill,beitpracticalor

theoretical.

Thefirstfewexercisesinanintroductorypianobookmightinvolveworkingonposture,

warmingupthehandsandfingers,andshowingwhatshapethefingershouldhavewhen

strikingakey.Then,thetextmightshowwhatletterednotescorrespondtoeachkey,

whichisthebeginningofthestudent'spreparationsforreadingmusic.Perhapsthena

fewbarsofmusicshowhowtowarmuponehand,thenthenext,demonstratingthe

connectionbetweensheetmusicandwhichkeystopressonthekeyboard.Then,thetext

challengesthestudenttoplayasimplesongtheOdetoJoyisapopularfirst

exercise.Inthiscase,thechallengeistomovethefingersinawaythatisslightlymore

complicatedthanabasicwarmupexercise;thetextchallengesthestudenttotry

somethingnew.Exerciseslikethiscontinue,eachintroducinganaspectofplayingpiano

thatthestudenthasnotyetdone:playingsimplechords,playingnotesofdifferent

lengthswithdifferenthands,learningexpressiveaspectsofplayinglegato,demonstrating

intervals,whichthestudentwilllaterapplytotheoreticalexercises,andsoon.Exercises

liketheseintroducethestudenttonewaspectsofplayingandatthesametimeteachthe

studenthowtopractice,howtoreadsheetmusic,thesignificanceofsheetmusic,anda

hostofotherbasicskills.Andallofthiscountsasplayingpiano,eventhoughitisa

learningexercise.

88
 *

WhenIpracticepiano,Ihavesheetmusicfromwhichtowork.Thesheetmusicsuggests

howIshouldmovemyfingersaroundthekeyboardandprovideshelpfulhintsabouthow

theperformanceshouldsound.Itdoesnot,however,completelydictatehowthe

performanceshouldsound;sheetmusicisasuggestionofhowtointerpretthewritten

formofasonicideabackintoasonicperformance.Sheetmusicisaguidethatmusicians

interpretin(orinto)theirperformances,butitalsoprovidesconstraintsonwhatcountsas

aperformanceofthispiece.Sheetmusicisastandard.

Inphilosophyandinwritingingeneralsensiblesentencestructure,length

requirementsandrelevanttopicsconstrainourwork.Forexample,wedonotwrite

philosophicaltreatisesonbakingcookies,butlogicordebatingtechniquesareperfectly

acceptabletopics.Also,thistextistoolongforaseminarpaperorajournalarticle,but

toountested(andperhapstooshort)tobeaseminalordefiningwork.Wegetthisfrom

exposuretoawidevarietyofactivitiesandwritingsthatwecallphilosophy.Importantly,

withinthesegivenconstraintsstructure,topicsandthemes,lengthrequirementsandso

forththereisroomforlimitlessvariety.

89
Thisisnottosaythatphilosophicaltreatiseswillneverincludecakerecipes,forexample.

Rather,thatsortofformalnoveltywouldaltertheperceivedconstraintsofa

philosophicaltreatise,andinordertoachievethis,onemusttalkaboutphilosophical

treatiseswhilewritingoneoratleastthephilosopherwillneedtoshowcontinuity

betweenhisnovelactivityandthemorefamiliarmethod.Asanhistoricexample:the

movefromthepennyfarthingtothesafetybicyclemarkedafundamentalchangeinhow

wethoughtoftwowheeled,humanpoweredtransportationitsperceivedconstraints,

possibleusesandsoforthchangedalongwiththisformalchange.Thesafetybicyclewas

aradicalchangefromthetallwheeledbicycle,butitwas,atthesametime,afathomable

change.Philosophy,literature,andarthaveseensimilarchangesovergenerations

fromNietzschetoJamesJoycetoPicasso,pushingoflongstandingformallimits

resultedinusefulalterationsofhowweperceivetheirrespectivedisciplines34.

Plato'sdialogues,Aristotle'streatises,Descartes'meditations,Kant'scritiques,

Wittgenstein'sinvestigations:wemightsaythatthesewerebornofintensepractice,or

throughdeliberatewritingrituals.Yet,thoughtheirformsdifferdramaticallyandin

innumerableways,theyarealluncontroversiallyphilosophicalworks.Nonepausesto

sharecookingrecipesortodevelopcharactermotivationsorplotdevicesortoadvertisea

professionalservice.

34
Thepointofthisdigressionisneithertooverstatethecase,nortostartanewdiscussioninthiswork.
Rather,thisismerelytopointoutthatourstoryarc,isareasonable,ifnotfamiliarone.(Cf.Thomas
Kuhn'sStructureofScientificRevolutions,andPaulFeyerabend'sAgainstMethod.)

90
Ryleoffersinsightsintotherelationshipbetweenstyleandconstraintswhenheaddresses

aphilosophicalpositioncalledmechanism.Roughlystated:givenastateofaffairsanda

setofrules,wecanpredictfuturestatesofaffairs,includinghumanbehavior.Asa

parallelcase,therulesofagame,heargues,donotforceaplayer'shands.Therules

showuswhatmovesarepossiblebutnotwhichwillhappen.Heuseschessasan

extendedillustration:

Anillustrationmayelucidatethispoint.Ascientificallytrainedspectator,
whoisnotacquaintedwithchessoranyothergame,ispermittedtolookat
achessboardintheintervalsbetweenthemoves.Hedoesnotyetseethe
playersmakingthemoves.Afteratimehebeginstonoticecertain
regularities.Thepiecesknowntousas'pawns',normallymoveonlyone
squareatatimeandthenonlyforwards,saveinacertainspecial
circumstancewhentheymovediagonally.Thepiecesknowntousas
'bishops'onlymovediagonally,thoughtheycanmoveanynumberof
squaresatatime.Knightsalwaysmakedogleggedmoves.Andsoon.
Aftermuchresearchthisspectatorwillhaveworkedoutalltherulesof
chess,andheisthenallowedtoseethatthemovesofthepiecesaremade
bypeoplewhomweknowas'players'.Hecommiserateswiththemupon
theirbondage.Everymovethatyoumake,hesays,isgovernedby
unbreakablerules;fromthemomentthatoneofyouputshishandona
pawn,themovethathewillmakewithitis,inmostcases,accurately
predictable.Thewholecourseofwhatyoutragicallydubyour'game'is
remorselesslypreordained;nothinginittakesplacewhichcannotbe
showntobegovernedbyoneorotheroftheironrules.Heartless
necessitydictatestheplay,leavingnoroominitforintelligenceor
purpose.True,IamnotyetcompetenttoexplaineverymovethatI
witnessbytherulesthatIhavesofardiscovered.Butitwouldbe
unscientifictosupposethatthereareinexplicablemoves.Theremust
thereforebefurtherrules,whichIhopetodiscoverandwhichwill
satisfactorilycompletetheexplanationswhichIhaveinaugurated.The
players,ofcourse,laughandexplaintohimthatthougheverymoveis

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 governed,notoneofthemisordainedbytherules.True,giventhatI
starttomovemybishop,youcanpredictwithcertaintythatitwillendon
asquareofthesamecolourasthatfromwhichitstarted.Thatcanbe
deducedfromtherules.Butthat,orhowfar,Ishallmovemybishopat
thisstageofthegameisnotstatedin,ordeduciblefrom,therules.There
isplentyofroomforustodisplayclevernessandstupidityandtoexercise
deliberationandchoice.Thoughnothinghappensthatisirregular,plenty
happensthatissurprising,ingeniousandsilly.Therulesarethesamefor
allthegamesofchessthathaveeverbeenplayed,yetnearlyeverygame
thathaseverbeenplayedhastakenacourseforwhichtheplayerscan
recallnocloseparallels.Therulesareunalterable,butthegamesarenot
uniform.Therulesprescribewhattheplayersmaynotdo;everythingelse
ispermitted,thoughmanymovesthatarepermittedwouldbebadtactics
(Ryle,767).

ThoughRyleintendstoclarifywhatheconsidersatroublingaspectofmechanism

simplyput,thatitcannotaccountforvarietyandnuancewithincodifiedconstraints

thepointappliesaswellhere.Wecould,forexample,teachapianostudentallofthe

rulesforwhichkeystopresswhenreadingfromstandardlynotatedsheetmusic.Wewill

beabletopredictwhichnotethestudentwillhitnext,assumingthathedoesnotmakean

error.Wewillbeabletopredictwhetherthenextnotewillbeasloudastheprevious

note,whetheritsdurationwillbeshorterorlonger,whethertheperformerwilldepressa

pedal,etc.Yet,thoughwecanpredictthesethingsineveryperformanceofthepiece,any

twogivenperformanceswillbeentirelydistinguishabletothetrainedandattentiveear.

Inpractice,then,welearnwhatconstrainsourperformances,suchasthetonesavailable

onthepiano,orthephysicalpossibilityofreachingthisandthatnote,andwelearnwhat

freedomswecanexpresswithinthoseconstraints.Thissuggestssomethingaboutwhat

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wecallstyle:aswebecomemorefamiliarwithourowncapabilitieswithinagiven

context,wedevelopastylethroughtryingthingsoutthroughpracticing.Wemakean

activityourown.

Wecanteachthephilosophystudentrulesoflogic,argumentandrhetoric,thesortsof

wordsandphrasesthatphilosopherstendtouselikejustincase,thereisasensein

which,itcouldbearguedthat,wecandistinguishbetween,onthisinterpretation,

reason,theory,conception,discourse,articulationandyetvarietyin

philosophicalwritingpersists.Ifweassignasinglepapertopictoahundredstudents,we

willreceivebarringplagiarismahundreddifferentpapers.Thepaperswillbe

predictable,butdifferentinunpredictableways.Yetovertime,throughmuchpractice,

byproducingnumerousversionsofthesameideas,philosophersdevelopidentifiable

styles.Theydeveloptheirpeculiarwaysofstatingtheircases,makingtheirpoints,or

tryingtoconvincetheirreadersofapositionoraconclusion.

Theseexamplesmaketangibleanotherwiseintangibleaspectofphilosophical

investigation.Thephilosopherhasneitherawrittennoravisualrepresentationofanidea

toperformnormechanicalconstraints,likethecyclist.Atbest,wemightsaythatheis

constrainedbytheneedforsubjectsandverbs,familiarsentencestructures,andsoforth.

Ifthephilosopherwantstolearnwhichexpressionsbestmakehispointwhich

expressionshisaudiencegetsorevenunderstandshemustpracticethoseexpressions

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diligently,often,andinavarietyofways.Hemighttrydifferentverbs,simplersentence

structuresorperhapsmorecomplexdifferentarrangementsofthesameideas,re

expressionsofhisthesisorofhisconclusion,andsoon.

Askilledphilosopherhaslearnedmorethanjustesoterictechnicalterms,ortherulesof

logic,orfamiliarargumentsinaparticularsubliterature.Theskilledphilosopherknows

howtooperatewithinconstraintstocreatewithinconstraints,thatis.Wemightsayof

amusician:shedoesnotsimplyplayfromsheetmusicsheperformscompositions.

Theespeciallyskilledmusiciandevelopssubtleplayingtechniques,andaudiencescan

identifyherdelivery.Similarly,thephilosopherisasubtlyskilledverbalperformer,well

practicedintheartsofargumentandexplanation.

Sometimes,werecognizesubtletiesinwhatwedowhenweleanhardagainstdistinctions

betweenseeminglysimilarprocesses.Forourpurposes,wecanrecognizeusually

overlookedaspectsofourwritingskillsifwedevelopacrispdistinctionbetweendrafts

andversions,ortoputthepointinverbform:betweendraftingandversioning.Of

course,wedonotwanttotakethisadmittedlyartificialdistinctiontoofar:wemakethis

distinctionhereforaparticularpurpose,andthatpurposeistosaysomethingaboutour

purposeswhenweworkwithwords,whichistomakeapointaboutourwritingmethods.

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Wewillcallallthesameactivitieswritingortellingorconversingorrecordingor

transcribingorrelatingunderdifferentcircumstanceswhensubtledistinctionsbetween

draftsandversionsseemsuperfluous.

Whenwewriteadraft,weworkwithasinglearrangementofspecificideas.Werevise

ourprose.Weclarifyunclearpoints.Wemightaddaparagraphhereandthere,or

removeredundancy,butthebasicformofourworkremainsintact.

Whenwewriteaversion,wetryoutdifferentarrangementsofsimilarideas.Perhapswe

experimentwitharrangementsbecauseinthepastwedevelopednovelinterpretationsof

textsandideasbydoingso,orwefoundthatreexpressingwhatappearstobethesame

ideahelpsustodevelopnewideas.Thecomediantellsthesamejokeindifferentways

withdifferentsetupstothesamepunchlineinordertosharpenhisdeliveryskills,

ortomakethejokefunnier.Whenweversion,weaimtoexpressthesamethemesor

conceptsorideasasinpreviousattempts,butwealterourpresentation'sstructure,or

style,orvocabulary.Wepurposefullypushourideasindifferentdirectionsthanin

previousversions,andweacceptthatbyworkingonfutureversionssimilarly,wewill

achievesimilarresults.

Whenweworkondrafts,weattendtoaspectsofourwritingtowhichwedonotattend

(atleastnotasfervently)whenweworkonversionsofsimilarthemesandideas.To

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workonadraftistoattendtogrammarandspellingandparagraphing.Toworkona

versionistoattendtostyle,structure,andvocabulary;itistoquestionassumptionsthat

wemighthavemade;itistoalterourprosestyleinanefforttoalteranaudience's

reactiontoourtext;itistostarttheprojectoverifnecessary,andsoon.Whentryingout

versionsofideas,wemightrejectanythingthatwehaveproduced.Whendrafting,we

expectthatthecontentoftheworkwillremainrelativelyintact,andsowesimplyaimto

cleanupaparticularversionofourwork.

Distinguishingbetweendraftingandversioningclarifiesourattitudestowardtheproducts

ofourwritingactivities.Whendrafting,wedonotlooktoalterthecontenttheideas

ortheconceptsofourwritingsignificantly;welooktocleanuptheprose.When

versioning,welooktoevaluatethecontentforchanges;wechallengeourcontentmore

vigorouslythanwhendrafting.

Makingthisdistinctionisanexercise,andfleshingoutthedistinctionwillhelpusgeta

betterhandleonthemethodwearedevelopinghere.

Thedistinctionservesatleasttwopurposes.First,thepointofthistextistosay

somethingaboutaphilosophicalmethodspecificallytoshowhowordinary

vocabularybecomestechnicalvocabularyunderspecialcircumstances.Inthiscase,we

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needtotalkabouttheprocessofwritingcollectingwordsintocoherentsentences,

figuringouthowtosaythisorthatmoreclearlyputsimply:toworkonaskill.

Weimproveskillsaswelearntodistinguishgoodperformancesfrompoorones

(particularlyourown,inthecaseofwriting),andourcompetenceatmakingthiskindof

distinctiondependsonoursharingcriteriaforwhatcountsasgoodandwhatcountsas

poor.Whymakedraftandversionintotechnicalterms?Becausetheactofmaking

themintotechnicaltermsisanexampleofourmethod.Philosophersmustlearntouse

ordinarywordsinspecialways,andsomustwe.

Second,thedistinctionitselfisausefuloneforwriterstomake.Ithelpsussay

somethingaboutourpurposeswhenwewrite.Earlierwesaidthatphilosophicalwriting

isn'tjustanywritingbutevenamongactivitieswecallphilosophicalwriting,our

differentpurposesaffecthowwegoaboutourbusiness.Draftingandversioningare

twowaystodescribewhatmightappeartobethesameactivitynamelywriting.

Ourlearningtoemploythesewordsinamorenuancedwaythanusualhelpsusbetter

understandthephilosophicalmethodunderinvestigationhere.

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AnexamplefromRyle,whereheteasesoutthenuancesoffollowingatune,helpsto

clarifyhowdraftingandversioningapplytoourtaskhere.FromhisessaySensation

andObservation:

Letusconsideraslightlydifferentsituationinwhichaperson
wouldbedescribedasnotmerelyhearingsomething,andnotmerely
listeningtosomething,andnotmerelytryingtomakeoutwhathewas
hearing,butasidentifyingorrecognisingwhatheheard,namelythecase
ofapersonwhorecognisesatune.Forthissituationtoobtain,theremust
benotesplayedinhishearing,sohemustnotbedeaf,oranaesthetised,or
fastasleep.Recognisingwhathehearsentailshearing.Italsoentails
heeding;theabsentmindedordistractedmanisnotfollowingthetune.
Butmorethanthis,hemusthavemetthistunebefore;andhemustnot
onlyhavemetit,butalsohavelearneditandnotforgottenit.Ifhedidnot
inthissensealreadyknowthetune,hecouldnotbesaidtorecogniseiton
listeningtoitnow.
Whatthenisitforapersontoknowatune,thatistohavelearned
andnotforgottenit?Itcertainlydoesnotentailhisbeingabletotellits
name,foritmayhavenoname;andevenifhegaveitthewrongname,he
mightstillbesaidtoknowthetune.Nordoesitentailhisbeingableto
describethetuneinwords,orwriteitoutinmusicalnotation,forfewofus
coulddothat,thoughmostofuscanrecognisetunes.Heneednotevenbe
abletohumorwhistlethetune,thoughifhecandoso,hecertainlyknows
thetune;andifhecanhumorwhistleplentyofothertunes,butcannot
producethisone,evenwhenprompted,wesuspectthathedoesnotknow
thistune.Todescribehimasknowingthetuneisattheleasttosaythathe
iscapableofrecognisingit,whenhehearsit;andhewillbesaidto
recogniseit,whenhehearsit,ifhedoesany,someorallofthefollowing
things:if,afterhearingabarortwo,heexpectsthosebarstofollowwhich
dofollow;ifhedoesnoterroneouslyexpectthepreviousbarstobe
repeated;ifhedetectsomissionsorerrorsintheperformance;if,afterthe
musichasbeenswitchedoffforafewmoments,heexpectsittoresume
aboutwhereitdoesresume;if,whenseveralpeoplearewhistlingdifferent
tunes,hecanpickoutwhoiswhistlingthistune;ifhecanbeattime
correctly;ifhecanaccompanyitbywhistlingorhummingitintimeand
tune,andsoonindefinitely.Andwhenwespeakofhimexpectingthe
noteswhichareduetofollowandnotexpectingnotesorbarswhichare

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nottofollow,wedonotrequirethathebeactuallythinkingahead.Given
thatheissurprised,scornfuloramused,iftheduenotesandbarsdonot
comeattheirduetimes,thenitistruetosaythathewasexpectingthem,
eventhoughitisfalsetosaythathewentthroughanyprocessesof
anticipatingthem.
Inshort,heisnowrecognizingorfollowingthetune,if,knowing
howitgoes,heisnowusingthatknowledge;andheusesthatknowledge
notjustbyhearingthetune,butbyhearingitinaspecialframeofmind,
theframeofmindofbeingreadytohearbothwhatheisnowhearingand
whathewillhear,orwouldbeabouttohear,ifthepianistcontinues
playingitandisplayingitcorrectly.Heknowshowitgoesandhenow
hearsthenotesastheprogressofthattune.Hehearsthemaccordingto
therecipeofthetune,inthesensethatwhathehearsiswhatheislistening
for.Yetthecomplexityofthisdescriptionofhimasbothhearingthe
notes,astheycome,andlisteningfor,orbeingreadyfor,thenotesthatdo,
andthenotesthatshould,comedoesnotimplythathisisgoingthrougha
complexofoperations.Heneednot,forexample,becouplingwithhis
hearingofthenotesanysilentormurmuredprosemoves,or'subsuming'
whathehears'undertheconceptofthetune'.Indeed,ifheweretoldto
thinkthethoughtof'Lillibullero'withoutproducing,imaginingoractually
listeningtothetuneitself,hewouldsaythattherewasnothingleftforhim
tothink;andifheweretoldthatthefactthathecouldrecognisethetune,
eventhoughplayedinvariouswaysinvarioussituations,meantthathe
hadaConcept,orAbstractIdea,ofthetune,hewouldproperlyobjectthat
hecouldnotthinkwhatitwouldbeliketobeconsideringorapplyingthe
AbstractIdeaof'Lillibullero',unlessthismeantmerelythathecould
recognisethetune,whenheheardit,detectmistakesandomissionsinit,
humsnatchesofit,andsoon.
Thisenablesustoreconsiderwhatwassaidearlier,namely,thata
personwhorecogniseswhathehearsisnotonlyhavingauditory
sensations,butisalsothinking.Itisnottruethatsuchapersonfollowing
afamiliartuneneedbethinkingthoughtssuchthattheremustbean
answertothequestion,'Whatthoughtshashebeenthinking?'oreven
'Whatgeneralconceptshashebeenapplying?'Itisnottruethathemust
havebeenponderingordeclaringpropositionstohimself,ortothe
company,inEnglish,orFrench;anditisnottruethathemusthavebeen
marshalinganyvisualorauditoryimages.Whatistrueisthathemust
havebeeninsomedegreevigilant,andthenotesthatheheardmusthave
fallenasheexpectedthemtofall,orshockedhimbynotdoingso.He
wasneithermerelylistening,asonemightlistentoanunfamiliarair,nor

99
 yetwashenecessarilycouplinghislisteningwithsomeotherprocess;he
wasjustlisteningaccordingtotherecipe.

Rylerightlyemphasizesrecognition,andmakesclearthatrecognitionandwhatIam

callingstylearecloselyrelated.Again:Heneednot,forexample,becouplingwithhis

hearingofthenotesanysilentormurmuredprosemoves,or'subsuming'whathehears

'undertheconceptofthetune'.Indeed,ifheweretoldtothinkthethoughtof

'Lillibullero'withoutproducing,imaginingoractuallylisteningtothetuneitself,he

wouldsaythattherewasnothingleftforhimtothink....Thereisnothinkingabouta

tunewithoutthinkingofaparticularexpressionofthattune;tothinkofthetuneisto

expressthetune.Thoughwemightnothaveheardthisversionofthesongorthejokeor

theideainthepast,weeasilyrecognizeitforwhatitis.Wemightsaythatversionisto

tuneasdraftistoperformance.

Onemightsaythat,armedwiththesheetmusic,alistenercangrasptheunexpressed

tune.Butthesheetmusicisalistofrulesorofconstraintsontheperformanceasetof

guidelinesthatshowhowamusicianshouldoperateherinstrument.

Knowingaconceptislikebeingabletorecognizeatuneasaparticulartune,or

consciouslyworkingonadraftofaparticularversionofanidea.Weknowtheideaand

100
wecangetbetteratexpressingitinavarietyofwaysandforavarietyofreasons.We

sensitizeourselvestosituationsandtopurposes.

Tounderstandaparticularsongistobeabletoperformitindifferentstyles,ortobeable

torecognizeitwhenitisplayedindifferentstyles,ortobeabletopickaparticularsonic

patternoutofnoisesintheworld.Togettheconceptofaphilosophicaltermisoftento

beabletousethatterminawidevarietyofwayssometimestobeabletousethe

adverbialformofaverbinwaysthatweallunderstand,forexample:mean/

meaningfully,philosophize/philosophically,argue/argumentatively.Sometimes

gettingtheconceptmanifestsitselfinourabilitytoexplainthetermstoaneophyte

whichisessentiallytorelearntheterm,ortoexpresswhatitmeansinalearnableway.

Allofthisimpliesthataswelearnaconcept,welearnwhatmakesitrecognizablein

somemedium.Wemightrecognizethesametuneinanorchestralperformanceandin

thenoteswhistledwhileoneworks.Similarly,howphilosophersemploytermsofart,

likemeaning,concept,method,andsoforth,differsfromyetisdeeply

connectedtohowthosesamewordsfitintoeverydaytalk.Toshowhoweveryday

talkevolvesintotechnicaltalkisaphilosophicalproject,andthewaythatweundertake

thisprojecthereillustratesaphilosophical,investigativemethod.

Thisdiscussionbeginstosuggesthowweusethewordconcept.Asacounterpoint,

sheetmusicdoesnotrepresenttheconceptofatuneanymoreorlessthanaparticular

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performancedoesitjustdoessoinadifferentway.Havingtheconceptofatune,as

Ryleputsit,involvestheabilitytofollowthetune,ortorecognizeaperformanceofthe

tune,orsometimestoplaythetune,andsoon.Butthatwemightsayshehasaconcept

ofthetunedoesnotimplythatthereisageneralthingcalledaconceptthatwecanor

shouldorneedtoinvestigate35.Sometimesitsimplyimpliesthatsheispreparedtotake

action.Again,weonlymakeastatementlikeshegetstheconceptundercircumstances

whenitmakessensetoinvokesomethinglikeconceptorgetting;sometimesitwill

bemoreappropriatetosimplysaysheplayeditright,orIrecognizedwhatshe

played,orsheplayswithalotoffeeling.Onemustbecarefulnottoassumethat

whensomethinglikeaconceptisunderinvestigation,itimmediatelyfollowsthatthe

investigationisaboutathing.Oftenourcircumstancesandpurposesespeciallyinthis

textsuggestthatwearebetterservedbyinvestigatingactions.

Wecanalllikelyagreethatthelistenerthinksasshelistens.Ofcourse,nothingstopsus

fromsayingshegetstheconcept,aswhenperhapsamusicianplaysaparticularly

pleasingrenditionofapiece.Ourtaskistoremainclearabouttheimplicationsand

applicationsofsuchastatement,whichistoremainattentivetothecontextinwhichwe

saysuchthings.ToreiteratefromRyle:Thisenablesustoreconsiderwhatwassaid

earlier,namely,thatapersonwhorecogniseswhathehearsisnotonlyhavingauditory

sensations,butisalsothinking.Rylesuggeststhatthelistener'scapacitytorecognize

35
Again,Cf.PI,291,132andrelateddiscussionsinthesectionThinking.

102
thisperformanceasaversionofthetune,tohumbitsofit,todetecterrorsinthe

performance,toexpectcertainnotestofollowoneanother,tobesurprisediftheydonot,

torecognizewhentheperformancehasended,andsoon,arethoughtfuleventsand

experiences,andtheyareconnectedtogettingaconcept.Wemighttreatthelistener's

complexbehaviors,expectations,recognitions,etc.asaunifiedactivity,andwecancall

thatactivitythinking.Ofthesamebehavior,wemightsay:shegetsit,orshehas

theconcept,etc36.

Noneofthisassertsthatwecannottalkaboutconcepts.Thetaskhereistoclarify,notto

restrict.Moreover,tosaythatwecannottalkaboutconceptswouldbeasabsurdas

sayingthatwecannottalkaboutjokesorsongs.Wecaneasilyaskthecomediantotell

theoneaboutthepurposefulchicken'stripacrosstheasphalt,andhewillnotbepuzzled

aboutwhatweexpecttohear.Thereisnodenyingthat,inthissense,therearejokes.

Butwerewetorootaroundlookingforathingthatisthejoke,oraperfectlyclear,

canonicalformulationofthejoke,wewillnotfinditinthewaywelookforamissing

sock(searchforathing)orhowwetryoutbicyclesuntilwefindonethatsuitsourtastes

(searchforafeeling).

36
Doingthissuitsourpurposesheresincethetaskistoshowtherelationshipsbetweenphilosophyand
thinkingandconcepts,andmoreovertoshowthatallarehandsonactivities.Wethinkand
philosophizeintheworld.WewillrevisitthisthemeagaininSelfEvaluation.

103
Certainlywecantalkaboutandmakesenseofthingslikemeaning,morality,free

willandsoforth,butwegoastray,usuallyusinginappropriateinvestigativemethods,if

weaimtodiscoverathingthatismeaning,orasingulardescriptionofwhatwedeem

moral(good)behavior.Wittgenstein'sfavoredphilosophicalmethodtotryout

arrangementsofexamplesissomethinglikeacomedian'smethod:theytelljokesover

andoverinvariousvenuesuntiltheirdeliveryachievesthedesiredeffectonmostofthe

audienceuntilmostpeopleseemtogetit.Wittgensteinobservesandreportsgives

examplesandarrangeshisobservationsinwaysthathighlightcertainaspectsofthose

examplesaspectsthatshowwhatofteninterestsusaboutphilosophicalpuzzles.

TouseWittgenstein'smethods,andthesortofderivativemethodthatIadvocatehere,to

investigatemeaning,morality,intention,thinking,andsoforth,wedonotstart

withtheconceptwordthentrytofigureoutwhattheconceptis.Moreover,onlyunder

specialcircumstanceswouldanyoneinterestthemselvesinwhatsomethinglike

meaningis,andoftentheseincludedoingphilosophyorteaching.Underthose

circumstances,themethodrecommendedbyWittgensteinrecommendedonlythrough

thefactthatheuseditistorelearntheconcept.Herecommends,byexample,thatwe

cometounderstandwhataconceptisbycomingtounderstandhowwelearnedtheword

inthefirstplace,orhowwewouldteachtheword,orwhateffectsthewordhaswhenwe

useit,andsoon.Philosophy,onthismodel,isaprocessofcreativeconstructionrather

104
thanaprocessofcleverdeconstruction.Wegetaconceptbyrecognizinghowthe

conceptwordworksintheworld.

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6.GettingIt

Whereweinvestigatesomeofthesubtletiesoflearningtousenewwords,
andhowthisinfluencesthewaythatwepayattentiontoaspectsof
whatwelearn.Thisstartstosuggesthowwemightunderstandour
technicaluseofthewordintention.

Followup:11.GettingStyle,whereweinvestigatetheimpactthat
contexthasongoingontogether.

Therearenojokesthereareonlyversionsofjokes.

Onemightobject:thereisWhydidthechickencrosstheroad?Andthereisthe

obviousanswer,togettotheotherside.Onecouldclaimthatthesewords,inthis

order,arethejoke.Perhapswecancallthesewords,inthisorder,thecanonical

formulationofthejoke,yetwemustsaythewords,orwritethemortellthembeforewe

cancallthemthejoke.

Thebarestformulationofthejokemightbeasfollows:

Q:Whydidthechickencrosstheroad?
A:Togettotheotherside.

Buteventhisevenjustthetypewrittenwords,withnomentionofourintendingthem

tobeajokeisnotdevoidofexpressivepower,forthewordsappearintheflowofthis

106
essay,whereIhavemadeitsufficientlyclearthatjokesareatissue,notexamplesof

questionsandanswers.Furthermore,thereismoreonthepagethanjustthewordsorthe

joke.Thereis,inthiscase,myhavingchosentoindentthewordsthatarethejoke,soto

makethewordsstandoutfromtherestoftheessayinaparticularway.Iassumethatthe

readergraspsthatthetwoindentedlinesarethejoke.Iassumethatthereader,ifaskedto

tellthejokeaboutthepurposefulchicken,wouldnotstartwith:Thebarestformulation

ofthejokemightbeasfollows:....ThensaytheletterQ,askthequestion,

unflinchinglysaytheletterA,thenstatetheobviousanswerwithoutpausing.One

mightevensaythatabetterwrittenversionofthejokewouldincludestagedirection:

Whydidthechickencrosstheroad?
{Dramaticpause}
{Incredulously}Togettotheotherside.

Stillwemighthavetotellthereaderthatwemeanthewordssurroundedbysetbracesto

bedirection,soyoudonotsaythosewordswhenyoutellthejoke.Orfurthermore,no

matterhowwellthejoketellerdeliversthejoke,itwillnotalwaysbefunnytoan

audience,dependingonthecircumstancesunderwhichthetellerdoeshistelling.For

example,ifacomedianburstsintoacourtroom,interruptstheproceedingswithaperfect

deliveryofthepurposefulchickenjoke,thencasuallywandersoff,thejudgeandjurors

willlikelyfeelmoredisorientedthanamused.

107
Tocomplicatethematter,areaderwillreadthewordswithhisorherownpeculiarstyle.

Notworeaders'internalvoiceswillbeexactlythesame.Thereaderreadswithastyle

justasthewriterwriteswithastyleandjustasthecomediandelivershisjokeswithhis

ownstyle.Thereisnoexpressiontooneself,inpublic,inwriting,andsoon,without

expressivestyle.

Thewaythatsomeonetellsthejokeandevenwhotellsthejokeinfluenceswhether

itcomesoffasfunny.Forexample,amonotonemachinerenderingofthechickenjoke,

madeaudiblethrough,say,acomputerspeaker,wouldn'tlikelybefunny37.Butaclever

comedianmightworkthiskindofdeliveryintohisact,perhapsmockingahumorless

person'sutterlackofjoketellingprowess.Butthenifthecomediancontinuedtospeak

onlyinmonotone,wewouldlikelyfindtheacttediousinshortorder.

Symmetricwithexpressionisreception.Inthecaseofonepersonlaughingatajokeand

anotherpersonfailingtoperceivethehumorinthesameexpression,theyreceivethe

sameexpressiondifferentlyandsotheyreactdifferently.Senseofhumorisareceptive

competenceaswellasanexpressiveone.Andthereisalotmoreinvolvedingettingit

thanjusthearingandknowingthewords.

37
Ofcourse,itcouldbefunnyundersomecircumstances.Butmorelikelythannot,wewouldendup
laughingattheodddeliverymorethanatthejokeitself.

108
Welearnhowtousewordsthatis,welearntheirmeaningsbydoingthingswith

them.Inphilosophy,welearnwordsbywriting,debating,andexplainingwiththem.

Sometimesweexplainthemeaningofawordbyusingotherrelatedwordsinrelevant

ways:wemightsaythatthemeaningofethicsisthestudyoftherightnessand

wrongnessofactions.Orwemightsaythatthemeaningoflogicisthestudyof

argumentativeformandtheprinciplesofinference.Andforparticularpurposes,these

otherworddefinitionsmightsuffice.Butwhenwelearnthediscipline,asopposedto

whenweexplainthediscipline,welearnthewordsinaction.Welearnlogicbydoing

logicbyworkingthroughproofsanddeterminingthevalidstructuresofarguments.

Welearnethicsbyanalyzingandevaluatingspecificsituationsandgeneralizingaboutthe

decisionsandreasoningthatinformhumanbehavior.Theseareallnecessarilyvague

pointsandsuggestions:theupshotisthatweoftengetthemeaningsofwordsbyputting

wordstouse.

Anexampleoflearningawordbyputtingittouseillustratesthepoint.Mypianoteacher

tellsmetoplaythisstanzapiano.ButIonlyknowthewordpianoasanoun.Piano

isalsoanadverbindicatingamannerofplay:Inasoftorquietway.Toexplain,my

teacherpointstothescriptpabovethestaff,playsafewmeasurespriortothemark

loudly,thenplaysquietlywhenheplaysthenotesthatfollowthep.Hetellsme:See,

that'showtoplaypiano.HowmightweevaluatewhetherIunderstandwhatmy

109
instructorshowedmeaboutplayingpiano:inasoftorquietway?Inthiscase,

contextwillmakeallthedifference.

MyinstructorcouldlaterquizmebyaskingWhatdoesitmeantoplaypiano?Outof

thecontextoflearninghowtoplayinasoftorquietway,Imightanswer,Topressthe

keysofthisinstrument,inwhichhammersstriketautstrings.Myanswermightnot

addressthesenseofpianoinwhichtheinstructorwasinterested,butIamcorrect,in

somesense.Hemightcontextualizehisquestion:Imeanttoaskyouforanadverbial

senseof'piano'thewaythatItaughtyoutoplayatthepreviouslesson.The

instructornoticedthatwewerenotgoingontogether;Ididnotunderstandwhatheasked

inthiscase.ButthatdoesnotmeanthatIwasunabletounderstandwhatheaskedatall;

Ineededanudgetopointmeintherightdirection.Afterheputshisquestionincontext

andIrevisemyanswer,myanswermightmeethisexpectations.Myanswermight

includeplayingafewnotesinthewaythathetaughtmeinordertodemonstratethatI

actuallycanplaypiano,orImightsimplysaythewordsheusedtodescribepiano

inasoftorquietway.Sayingandplayingmightbothbelegitimateanswerstomy

instructor'squestion.

ButwhatifeverytimeIsawascriptpaboveameasureofmusicIplayedthesame

notesthatIplayedthefirsttimemyteachershowedmehowtoplaypiano?Thatis,what

ifImisunderstoodtheconnectionbetweenhisdemonstration(onthepiano)andhis

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description(inwords)whatifIthoughthemeantthattoplaypianooneplaysthese

notesinasoftorquietway?ThendoesmyperformanceofthesesamenoteseverytimeI

seeascriptpdemonstratethatImisunderstoodtheadverbialsenseofthewordpiano,

orthatImisunderstoodhowtousetheword,orthatImisunderstooditsmeaning,orthatI

misunderstoodmyinstructor'sinstruction?

Whatif,bycoincidence,thenexttimeIsawthescriptpaboveameasureofmusic,the

measurecontainedthesamenotesasthefirstmeasureIplayedwithascriptpaboveit,

butthenoteswereofdifferentlengths?SayIplayedthemeasureexactlyasthefirst

measureIhadseenandinasoftandquietway.Myteacherstopsmeandsays,No,

that'snotcorrect.SoIrepeatthesamedifferentlytimednotesbutevenquieter.He

repeats,Nono!Notevenquieter.Theseareallquarternotes.Youareholdingthefirst

notetoolong.ButthisiswhatyoutaughtmetoplaywhenIseescript'p'.

IsitthatIcannotreadsheetmusic?IsitthatIdonotunderstandthesignificanceofthe

scriptp?IsitthatIheardatuneinmyheadandaccidentallyplayedthat?Howmight

wecharacterizemymisunderstanding?Compare:howmightwecharacterizethe

understandingthatwecallgettingit?

Perhapstheproblemwithmyperformanceisthat,thoughIperformedasIintended,my

intentionsdidnotmeetmyteacher'sexpectations.Ihadnotlearnedthelessonthathe

111
expectedmetolearn,andthatbecameevidentthroughmyperformanceinasmuchas

myperformanceisanexpressionofwhatIintendtoplay.

MyteacherevaluateswhetherIunderstandwhathemeantbyplayingpianobyhaving

metryouthisinstructions.Atthesametime,Iamabletobetterunderstandhis

instructionsbytryingthemoutandlisteningtohiscriticismsandsuggestionsfor

improvement.IgetabettersenseofwhatheoriginallymeantwhenIuseortryhis

instructionsindifferentways38.

WhenitisclearthatIdonotgetthepoint,hewilldemonstrateagain:Playitlikethis

hesays,emphasizingthewordthisjustashehitsthenotesthatIhavenotbeenplaying

correctly.Inoticethedifferencesinthesoundsofhisandmyperformances.Iwatchhow

hishandsmovearoundthekeyboardandInoticehowheraiseshiswristsslightlywhen

heplayssoftlyperhapsIshouldtryanexaggeratedversionofhistechnique.Ido,and

afewtrieslater,itworks.Idoitagainafewmoretimesinarowandwebothagreethat

Igetit.Wegoontogether.

38
Cf.PI,692:
Isitcorrecttosay:'WhenIgaveyouthisrule,Imeantyouto.....inthiscase'?Evenifhedidnot
thinkofthiscaseatallashegavetherule?Ofcourseitiscorrect.For'tomeanit'didnotmean:to
thinkofit.Butnowtheproblemis:howarewetojudgewhethersomeonemeantsuchandsuch?
Thefactthathehas,forexample,masteredaparticulartechniqueinarithmeticandalgebra,andthat
hetaughtsomeoneelsetheexpansionofaseriesintheusualway,issuchacriterion.

112
Uponreflectionwerecognizehowcomplicateditistotalkaboutgettingthemeaningofa

word,orthepointofanessayorapainting,orhowtoplayasongonpiano,andsoon.

Dependingonthecircumstancesortheactivity,gettingmightinvolveverbalskills,

performanceskills,orappropriatebehaviorsandreactions.Ourevaluationofwhether

someonegetsourpoint,ourjoke,ourinstructions,etc.isequallycomplicated.

Doingphilosophyofteninvolvesreflectingonwhatgoeswithoutsayinginordinary

activities,likedecidingwhethertotellthecashierthathegaveustoomuchchange,or

whethertostoptohelpastrandedbicyclistfixaflattire,orwhethertoreadforclass

insteadofjoiningfriendsatdinner,ortellingawhitelietoprotectafriend'ssecret.In

thesecases,weusuallyjustdowhatcomesnaturally;inphilosophy,welabortotalk

aboutwhatjustdoingamountstoandwhyitseemssonatural.

Whenweengageineverydayactivitieswedonotthinkaboutfoundations,orgrounds,or

rules,orwhywedowhatwedo.Usually,reasonsarenotpartoftheactivitiesthatwe

explain,partlybecauseexplanationandreasoningarediscursivethings,reflectiveina

waythatdoingneednotbe.Explanationissomethinglikeareportofreflectionsabout

whatwedoorwhatweobserve,andsowetypicallyonlyexplainthingswhentalking

aboutanactivityservessomepurpose:teaching,learning,andphilosophicalinvestigation

areoftenthatpurpose.

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Forinstance,whenwerideabicycle,undernormalconditions,wedonotthinkaboutor

payspecificattentiontothingslikebalanceorpedalingorturning.Indeed,sometimesa

codifiedruleorastatedtechniqueseemsintuitivelywrong.Forexample,toturnleftona

bicycle,theridershouldpressontheleftsideofthehandlebars.Thisrulepuzzlesmany

newridersuntiltheytryititturnsoutthatridersbestcontroltheirturnsbyleaning,

andpressingmakesariderleanthecorrectway.

Inmostcases,successfulridingisnonreflectiveriding,butwemightstarttothinkabout

whatspecificskillswecanidentifywhensomeoneasksushowdoyoudothat?Orif

weareracingandfallingbehind,wemightwondertoourselves,howcanIcatchup?

Orneartheendofalongride,aswefatigueourformsuffersandwefocusonimproving

theefficiencyofourpedalingstrokeandourposture.Butinmostcases,atmosttimes

whenonabicycle,thereissimplyriding,andsimpleridingdoesnotdependonanything

thatwemightthinkaboutintheexoticcases,liketeachingorracingorenduring.

Givingreasonsresemblesgivingmeanings.Meaningisofnointerestinthecourseof

mostactivities.Questionsaboutaword'smeaningtendtoarisewhencommunication

startstofail,orwhenitmakessensetoquestionsomeone'scompetence,andsoforth.

Onlyuponreflectionisthereanythingcalledmeaning,andreflectiononlyarisesamid

confusionorpuzzlementorwonder.Inournormalinteractionswiththeworld,however,

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wearerarelyconfused,puzzledorotherwiseraptinwideeyedwonder.Reasonsand

reflectionarerareeventsinlife,butcommoneventsinphilosophy.Thedanger,

particularlyforphilosophers,istoimportthecommonnessofphilosophicalquestions

withinthedisciplineintoregularinteractionswiththeworld.

Saidsimilarly:philosophersoftenforgethoweasilywesometimessolveordinary,

worldlyproblems.IfIdonotseemtofollowmypianoinstructor'spointwhenheasks

metoplaypianoinasoftorquietway,rephrasingorcontextualizinghisquestionis

simple:No,I'mnotaskingaboutthenoun'piano'...etc.Inthiscase,wemightsaythat

themeaningofpianowasofinterest.Butnoticehowbrieflymeaningwasatissue,

andhoweasilymyconfusionwasresolved39.Somephilosophersmightconsider

examplessuchasthisasillustrativeofourneedtodevelopclearerlanguage,oraneedto

investigatetheverynatureofwhatwecallmeaning,perhapsinanefforttoremove

future,similarconfusionsbetweenteacherandstudent.Whilesomethingliketheoryof

meaningmightshowusaneffectivetechniqueforsuchavoidanceundercertain

circumstances,thattechniquewillbeoneamongmanyresolutionstrategies.Often,

however,ordinarystrategieslikerephrasing,contextualizing,orphysicaldemonstration

willworkjustaswellatclearingupconfusions.Ourcompetenceatknowingwhich

techniquewillworkbestisthesortofcompetencethatweexerciseinphilosophyallthe

time.Wetrythisandthattechnique,anduponreflection,weidentifywhichtechniques

39
CompareagaintheflybottlemetaphorfromPI,309.

115
workbestinwhichsituations.Enhancingourmethodologicalrepertoire,then,buildsour

philosophical,investigativeskills.

Wittgensteinshowsthesourcesofphilosophicalconfusionsbyallowingphilosophical

puzzles,notions,concepts,etc.toarisethroughordinaryusesoflanguage.Bygiving

ordinaryexamplesofseeminglyspecialphilosophicalproblems,heisabletoshowus

importantfeaturesofphilosophy'spuzzlesfeaturesthatwemightoverlookwhenwe

approachphilosophicalproblemsasiftheyalwaysariseunderspecialcircumstances.

Simply:hedemystifiesphilosophicalproblems.

Demystificationdoesnoteliminatephilosophicalproblems.Rather,demystification

showswhenphilosophicalproblemsarise,whichisnotasoftenasmanyphilosophers

seemtobelieve.Forexample,problemswiththenatureofmeaningorproblemswith

foundationsfortheexistenceofanexternalworldonlyariseunderexotic

circumstances.

Saythatachildwantstoknowwhenhemightusethewordphenomenon.Wemight

answerthattheword'phenomenon'means______.If(andthisisanextremelyodd

case)thechildisnotfamiliarwiththenotionofmeaning,hemightlookpuzzledand

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askwhatistheword'means'.Underthesecircumstances,wewanttotellthechildhow

meaningworks,andthissortofordinaryactivitymakesmeaningappeartobea

legitimate,tangibleobjectofstudy.Wemightsimplysay,meaningisuse.40Butthatis

farfromallthatwecouldsay.Wemightsaythatthemeaningiswhatfillsintheblank,

asintheexampleabove.Meaningmightamounttoparaphrase.

Somephilosophersseemtothinkthattheblankintheword'meaning'means_____isa

specialcasethatrequirestheoryoresotericphilosophicaltechniquestofillin.Butthe

problemofmeaning,ortheneedforatheoryofmeaningrarelyarises;wedonot

needacomplicatedapparatustofillinablank.Yet,thatitissodifficulttosayanything

clearaboutmeaningoftenseducesphilosophersintobelievingthattheremustbemore

caseswheresayingwhatthenatureofmeaningcomestoisnecessary(orhelpful)justto

getonwithrelatedactivitieslikethecasesofteachingnewwords,grammar,andso

forth.Weusuallyonlyneedtoinvestigatehowitisthatthemetaphoricblankcameabout

inthefirstplace,andthisknowinghowoftensolvesourpuzzle.Weoftendothisby

tryingoutavarietyofexplanationsandrearrangementsofwhatwealreadyknow.We

explainthingstopeoplewhenitseemsthattheyneedabetterhandleonanidea,and

graspingwhensomeone'sunderstandingisincompleteisitselfalinguisticcompetence.

40
Cf.PI,IIxi,p215:WhenIpronouncethiswordwhilereadingwithexpressionitiscompletelyfilled
withitsmeaning.'Howcanthisbe,ifmeaningistheuseoftheword?'Well,whatIsaidwas
intendedfiguratively.NotthatIchosethefigure:itforceditselfonme.Butthefigurative
employmentofthewordcan'tgetintoconflictwiththeoriginalone.

117
 *

Weunderstanddifferentaspectsofaproblemwhenweapproachthatproblembothfrom

differentperspectives,andbyvaryinghowwepayattentiontotheproblem.For

example,ifIaimtostudyspecificcontentofaphilosopher'swriting,Imightpayclose

attentiontotheverbsthatheuses.Ofthesamephilosopher,forsomeotherpurpose,I

mightwanttopayattentiontothestructureofhiswriting.Todothis,Iwilllikelypay

moreattentiontohowhebreakshisworksintosections,orhowheconnectsonesection

tothenext.Knowingwhattopayattentionto,givenourpurposes,isaskillthatwelearn

inphilosophybyreadingandrereading,writingandrewriting,etc.bytryingthings

outforourselves.

ImaginethatItellyoueveryturntotakeonawalk.Proceedeastwardonthisstreetfora

quartermile,thenturnleft.Followthecurvesforahalfmile,etc.Whenyouarriveatthe

destination,youwouldnotlikelyrecognizetheshapeofyourpath;onawalk,onedoes

notusuallyattendcloselytothelocationandradiusofcurvesandturnsintheroad.

However,youwillbemorefamiliarwiththeterrainlikethebumpsintheroad,the

gentleinclines,andthespotswherethepavementiswearingoutthan,say,acyclistor

adriverwhotookthesamepath.Thecyclist,havingtakenthecurvesfaster,willbetter

appreciatethesharpnessofthecurves,forexample.Yetahanggliderwillhaveabird's

eyeviewofthelandscapeandofthepaththatyouoriginallywalked.Atraveler'schosen

118
modeoftraveldetermineshisimpressionsofwherehehastraveled.Wecanthinkof

differentkindsofreadingandwritinginthisway.

Forexample,onafirstreadingofPhilosophicalInvestigations,wemightgothroughit

somewhatquickly,justtogetafeelingforwhatitisabout.Certainthemesmightstand

out,likemeaning,followingrules,expectations,behavioralexpressions,andsoforth.If

ourinterestisinsimplylistingthemesofthetext,thisquickreadingmightsuffice.Butif

wewanttodevelopabettersenseofWittgenstein'stakeon,say,meaning,thenaslower,

closerreadingisinorder.Perhapswethendwellontheearlypartofthetext,

familiarizingourselveswithdetails,likehisreadingofAugustine'stalkaboutnaming,

orabouthowweusewordsasaninfluenceonwhatwecallmeaning.Ifwewanttodig

deeper,wemighttrytocomeupwithawaytotalkabouttheunderlyingstructureofthe

text,perhapsnotinghowhepursuestangentsasawaytosuggestwhatwillbeimportant

toconsiderlater.Inallofthesecases,howwereadthetextandwhywereadthetextare

inextricablyconnected.

Justasthepedestrian,thecyclist,thedriver,thepilotallhaveimportantlydifferent

perspectivesofthecity,readers'andwriters'purposesinformhowtheyapproachand

perceiveatext,includingthistext.Wittgensteinshowsushowphilosopherscanview

theirworks,andbyextensionothers'works,fromanalogousperspectives.Wittgenstein

119
alludestoasimilarprocessinthePrefacetoPhilosophicalInvestigationswhereheuses

journeysandlandscapesasmetaphorstodescribehismethod:

Afterseveralunsuccessfulattemptstoweldmyresultstogether
intosuchawhole,IrealizedthatIshouldneversucceed.ThebestthatI
couldwritewouldneverbemorethanphilosophicalremarks;mythoughts
weresooncrippledifItriedtoforcethemoninanysingledirection
againsttheirnaturalinclination.Andthiswas,ofcourse,connected
withtheverynatureoftheinvestigation.Forthiscompelsustotravel
overawidefieldofthoughtcrisscrossineverydirection.The
philosophicalremarksinthisbookare,asitwere,anumberofsketchesof
landscapeswhichweremadeinthecourseoftheselongandinvolved
journeyings.
Thesameoralmostthesamepointswerealwaysbeingapproached
afreshfromdifferentdirections,andnewsketchesmade.Verymanyof
thesewerebadlydrawnoruncharacteristic,markedbyallthedefectsofa
weakdraughtsman.Andwhentheywererejectedanumberoftolerable
oneswereleft,whichnowhadtobearrangedandsometimescutdown,so
thatifyoulookedatthemyoucouldgetapictureofthelandscape.Thus
thisbookisreallyonlyanalbum.(v)

Heapproachestopicsnotonlyfromdifferentdirections,butwithdifferentpaces,andin

doingso,heaimstoshowthereaderhowtoaddressthethemesofthetextindifferent

ways.Headdressesthemes,likemeaning,intention,expectation,rules,

namingandsoforthbydevelopingnumerousordinaryexamplesofeach,andheshows

howsuchabstractionsgettheirvaluefromordinaryactivities.

Giventhis,astudentisbestservedtoreadWittgensteininparticular,andphilosophyin

general,atdifferentpaces.Sometimesitisvaluabletogothroughatextsomewhat

120
quicklytoskimthetext,perhapstogetasenseofitsstructure.Weoftenrefertoa

story'sarctometaphoricallydescribethis.Sometimesthestudentwillwantto

investigatenuancesinatext,andwillreadmuchmorecloselyorslowlythaninthe

previouscase.Thestudentmightaddressspecificdetailsofspecificarguments.Or

sometimesastudentwillprofitfromametaanalysisofatexttheproverbialbird'seye

viewwhenheaimstounderstandwhyatextisarrangedaparticularway,perhaps

wheninvestigatingforabiography.

Similarly,ordinarytripsthroughthecity,bydifferentmeans,helpuslearntotalkabout

thecity'sshape,itsstature,itsodorsandaromas,itspopulationanddemographics,andso

on.Ordinarytripsthroughthecity,thatis,helpustograspandestablishavocabulary

thatwecanusetotalkaboutthecityandanyonewhohastraversedthecityscapeon

foot,bybicycle,inanautomobile,andseenthewholefromfarabovewillhavea

comprehensivegraspofalargecitydescribingvocabulary.Wegethowbesttodescribe

things,howtogetaround,howtounderstandourownideasbytryingdescriptions,

followingdirections,writing,etc.Andtodevelopourskillsatreflectingonthose

activitiesisoftentoimproveourskillsatdoingthem.

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7.DistinctionUponReflection

Whereweexaminetherelationshipbetweenpartsofanactionanda
wholeaction,emphasizingthatourabilitytoidentifyaspectsofan
activityisessentialtoourabilitytoimproveourcompetencewiththat
activity.

Followup:10.DoubtUponReflection,whereweexaminethe
importanceofshared(orrelevantlysimilar)intentionsforgoingon
together,whichisessentialforsuccessfulteacherstudentinteractions,
andconsequentlyskillbuilding.

Wemightcallwalkingandhummingdoingtwothingsatonce41becausetheydonot

usuallyhappentogether.Ofanoddmanwhoalwayshumswhenhewalks,wemight

reasonablysaythatheissimplywalkingbutthathewalksoddly.Ofanormal

walker,wedonotsayhemoveshisarmsandlegsinaregularfashionasheproceeds

forward,becausemovingarmsandlegsinaregularfashioniswalking(asispaying

attention,avoidingobstacles,balancingononefootatatime,etc.)Yetwalkingisnot

twomotionsthatwebundleupandcallone;onlyuponreflectionunderreasonable

circumstancesdowepickoutaspectsofwalkingtodescribewhatitis.Onlyunder

specialcircumstanceswillwetrytodescribeasseeminglybasicanactivityaswalkingas

agroupingofotheractivitiesperhapswhenwesprainanankleandtrytowalkonit,

orwhenwerecoverfromakneeinjurywillwefinditusefultoreflectonwhatwalkingis.

Wecantreatthinking,knowing,getting,understanding,intendingandmanyabstract

gerundssimilarly.

41
CompareTheConceptofMind,Ryle,138ff.

122
Movingyourlegsandswingingyourarmsaretwoseparatemotions,butwalkingisone

motion.Pedalingandadjustingthedirectionofthefrontwheelaretwoseparatemotions,

butridingabicycleisoneactivity.Formulatingideasandmovingapencilacrossapiece

ofpaperaretwoseparateactivities,butwritingisone.Andalloftheingverbshere,

likepedaling,canbedescribedsimilarlybymultipleotherverbs:pedalingispushing

downwithonelegwhilepullingupwiththeother,orpedalingismakingcircleswith

one'slegsbybendingone'sknee,andsoon.

Certainly,peoplewhowalkalsopayattentiontowheretheyaregoing,orelsewemight

callitstumblingorambling.Walkersalsomovetheirheadsaround;wemightsay

thatastiffheadedwalkerismarchingorstomping.Yetifawalkermoveshishead

toomuch,perhapslookingaroundmoreoftenthanweexpect,wemightsaythatheis

wanderingorsearching.Inallofthesecases,wewoulddoubtlessagreethatthe

subjectiswalking,butincaseslikestumblingormarching,itisnotthewalkingpartof

theactivitythatstandsout.

Rarelywouldwepointoutthebendinthestumblingsubject'selbow,forstumblinghas

littletodowithelbows.Rarelywouldwepointoutthecolorofthemarchingsoldier's

eyes,asthisisobviouslyirrelevanttomarching.Similarly,wewouldnotusually

describethemarchingsoldieraswalking,asweclearlyseethathiswalkispurposeful

123
inaspecialwayyetheperformsmostofthesamemovementsoftheordinarywalker.

Soldierstypicallymarchinarobustcontext,includingwhiletrainingwithlegionsof

othersoldiers,oratadisplayoftheirtraining,suchasatbootcampgraduation.Insuch

circumstances,itwouldseemoddtosaysomethinglike:Lookathoworderlytheywalk

togetherorIsn'titamazinghowpeopleofsomanydifferentheightscanmarch

together?Intheformercase,itseemsthatwedon'tgetwhatmarchingis,orwhenitis

appropriatetousethewordmarchasopposedtowalk.Inthelattercase,itseems

thatwehavemissedsomethingimportantaboutmarchingnamelythathowtallthe

soldiersareis(usually)notrelevanttohowwelltheykeepinstepwithoneanother.We

talkabouttheskillofmarchingsoldiersbecausetheirindividualmovementsare

synchronized,indistinguishable.Thesoldierwhoisoutofstepstandsout,likethe

orchestralmusicianwhohitsabadnote.

Wecouldpickoutotheraspectsoftheactors'physicalperformancesandtalkabouttheir

performancesinthosetermsyetthiswouldchangenothingintheirperformances.

Similarly,wecouldtalkabouttheactors'intentions,theirmotivations,whatgoesthrough

theirheads,andsoon,butthesearesimplyotheraspectsoftheirperformances.

Wemightbetemptedtothinkthattheseaspectsarepartsofactors'performancesthat

ifweassembledenoughparts,wecouldwhollycharacterizetheperformance.Thatis,we

mightbetemptedtothinkthatwalking,forexample,ismadeupofmovingone'sarms

124
andlegsinordertoinduceforwardmotion.Orwalkingismadeupofcontrolledfalls

fromonefoottothenext.Orwalkingispushingone'slegsbyrotatingthehipswhile

coordinatingarmsway.Thepointisthatwecouldisolateanddescribecountlessbodily

motionsthatweobserveinagentswhowalk,butthatwouldnottelluswhatwalkingis

onceandforall;allofourdescriptionswouldbepurposeladen.Thispurposeladenness

suggeststhatourdescriptionsourarticulationofaspectsofwalking,inthiscase

helpustobetterunderstandtheactivitywecallwalking.(Andherewhatisinquestion

iscalling,ortheuseofaparticularword.)

Thereistheperformance,andtherearetheaspectsoftheperformancethatwechooseto

payattentiontoforourspecificpurposes:thelatterdoesnotbuildtheformer.Talking

aboutisolatedaspectsofparticularperformanceshelpstobuildourvocabularyfortalking

aboutgeneralperformances.Atthesametime,talkingaboutparticularactions

especiallyourowncanhelpourperformanceskills.Selfevaluationisaformof

practicing.Buttherewillalwaysbemoreaspectstopickoutthanwehavealready

isolatedanddiscussed.Overtime,wedevelopourcompetencesatfiguringoutwhich

aspectsofaperformancedemandourattentionwhatweneedtopracticegivenour

purposes.

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Whatdoesthissayaboutpracticingwritingandphilosophy?Writing,reading,studying,

doingphilosophyareallcomplicatedactivitiesinthesamewaysthatwalking,pedaling

andplayingarecomplicated.Whenwetalkaboutimprovinguponourperformancesof

suchthings,wepickoutaspectsoftheactivitythatstandout.Forexample,ifawriter

peppershiswritingwithpassivevoice,thisstylisticquirkmightstandouttotheattentive

reader.(Comparetheprevioussentencewith:Itstoodoutbecausethepaperwaswritten

inthepassivevoice.)Inacaselikethis,anattentivereaderorinstructorcould

pointoutthequirkandhelpthewriterchangethehabitassumingthatthehabit

distractsorconfusesareaderlikelybyemphasizingrelevantorwisesubjectandverb

choice,orbyprovidingrulesofthumb,suchasIfyoucannottellwhoperformedthe

action,thenrewritethesentence.Forawhile,thewriterwillhavetoattendcloselyto

hissubjectandverbchoices,butwithsufficientpractice,hewilleffortlesslycreateclear,

activesentences.Hiswritingstyle,wewouldlikelyagree,willhaveimproved.

Likeanyactivity,whenwebecomeaccustomedtodoingitinacertainway,webecome

desensitizedtohowwedoit.Whendevelopingourskillswhenwetrytoimprove

weattendtoaspectsofourperformancesthatstandoutasaspectsthatcoulduse

improvement.Imighttrytoimprovemypedalstrokewhilebicyclingbecausemyknees

getsoreafterafewhours.ImighttrytoimprovemytimingwhenItellajokebecause

fewpeoplelaughwhenIdeliverthepunchline.Imighttrytoimprovemyfootworkin

tennisbecauseIalwaysfindmyselfarrivingtoolatetostriketheballcleanly.Sometimes

126
weareabletoidentifydeficienciesonourownbecauseofthenatureoftheactivity,or

becauseweareusedtotryingthingsout,orwehavedevelopedaskillatobservingour

owndeficiencies,orweareworkingoutthedetailsofaninnovativeperformance

technique,andsoforth.Sometimesweneedamoreskilledinstructortoisolatewherewe

gowrongandtohelpusdevelopbettertechniques.Intellingjokes,ridingabicycle,and

philosophizing,wedevelopourskillssimilarly.

Whilewriting,wedevelopideasbecausewritingisreflecting;writingisaspecifickindof

thinking.Philosophicalwritingisaspecifickindofthoughtfulwriting,asopposedto,

say,writinginajournal,orwritingacomedysketch.Aswewritedownideasandreflect

onthem,wegetwhichideascountasphilosophical.Wegetthedistinctionbetween,say,

philosophicalandscientificwritingbyreflectingonhowwewriteorhowotherswrite,

andbytryingoutdifferentwritingstyles.Andwhenwetryoutdifferentstyles,and

reflectonthattrying,welearntorecognizeourownhabits,forbetterorforworse,and

wecanthenstarttorefineourskillsbyattendingtospecificaspectsofourwriting.

127
8.Undoing&DevelopingHabits

Whereweexaminetheimportanceoflearningtotrainourattentionon
helpfulaspectsoftheactivitiesthatweintendtoimproveasopposedto
continuingtousethesametoolsandtechniqueswithoutreevaluating
theireffectiveness,givenourpurposes.

Followup:9.PresentTense,whereweexaminehowwetalkaboutthe
skillsthatweaimtoimproveintermsofprediction,execution,and
evaluation.

Aficionadosoffixedgearbicycleridingsometimesrefertocoastingasapernicious

habit.Onthefixedgearbicycle,thechaindirectlyconnectstherearwheelandthe

cranks;whenyoupedalforward,thewheelmovesforward;whenyoustoppedaling,

whichtakessomeeffort,therearwheelstopsturning;whenyoupedalbackwards,the

rearwheelturnsbackwards.Crankingandmovingaredirectlyrelated;thereisno

coastingonafixedgearbicycle.

Mostbicycleridersarenaturallyaccustomedtocoasting,whereiftheriderstops

pedaling,therearwheelcontinuestorollforwardwhiletherider'slegsremainatrest.

Forridersaccustomedtocoasting,fixedgearridinginitiallychallengestheirskillsor

moreneutrally,fixedgearridingchallengestheirhabits.Thefixedgearbicyclequickly

informstheriderthatcoastingisanono;riderswhotrytocoastwillfindthemselves

launchedforwardbythecranks'inertia.

128
Formostbicycleriders,considerationsaboutcoastingneverarise.Ifweaskedmost

ridersHowoftendoyoucoast?theywouldlikelyhavetoconsiderthequestion

carefully,forthisaspectofbicycleridinghasneverstoodoutandwhyshouldit?The

firstfewtriesonafixedgearbicycleinvariablygetstheridertothinkingabouthis

coastinghabits,becausenotcoastingisnowparamounttoremainingupright.Wemight

contrastthiswithmorestraightforwardquestionslikeHowdoyourehydrateafteralong

ride?orWhendoyouusehandsignals?Thesesortsofconsiderationsarisenaturally

whenridingabicycle;coastingversusnotcoastingisasomewhatexoticconsideration.

Forexample,itiscommonforabicycleridertocoastwhileapplyingthebrakesatastop.

Thefeelingofpedalingwhilestoppingisunnaturaltonovicefixedgearriders.New

fixedgearriders,thatis,havetoremainconsciousoftheirpedalingtechniquesasthey

cometoastop.Thisnewconsciousnesscanbeoverwhelming,andsomenewriders

abandonthisstyleofridingalmostimmediately.Thosewhostickwithitfindthatthey

needtounlearnoldhabitsandtodevelopnewones;ridersachievethisbycombining

tryingandreflecting.

Newridersneedtodevelopahabitofpedalingwhilestopping,forthedistractionof

constantattentiontoone'spedalingmakesridingthebicyclebothdangerousand

decidedlyunpleasant.Theactivityisdangerousifattentiontopedalingdivertstherider's

129
attentionfromroadhazardsorfromtraffic.Theactivitybecomesunpleasantiftherider

feelsanxiousaboutremainingconstantlyattentivetohispedalingtechnique.

Butoncethenewfixedgearriderdevelopsnewhabitsonce,thatis,thenewfixed

gearriderstopsthinkingaboutwhathedoeswhileridinghebeginstoappreciatehis

newhabitsandtofurtherdevelophisridingskillsandtechniques.Hedevelopsanew

ridingstyle.

Togeneralize:inthemidstofdaytodayactivities,wedonotthinkabouthowwedo

whatwedo.Itdoesnotoccurtoustoconsiderourtechniques,ourfeelings,orourhabits

untilsomethinginfluencesustodoso.Ifacoastingbicycleridersimplyswitchedtoa

differentcoastingbicycle,hewouldnotattendtohispedalingtechniquethewaythata

novicefixedgearriderdoes;reflectingoncoastingwouldservenopurpose.Perhapshe

wouldattendtothefitorfeelofthedifferentbicycle,orperhapshewouldnoticethe

weightofthebicyclewhilecrankingupanincline,andsoon.Wemightsaythatwhat

thenewbicycleridertriesout,whetheritisanewfixedgearbicycleoranewroadracing

bicycle,dependsuponwhatmakestheexperiencenovel.

130
Learning,inphilosophy,takesasimilarform.Thetopicsthatthedisciplinetreatsare

oftenquiteordinary:theyareactivitiesandobservationsthatweoftendoandsee,andso

weareusedtothem.Forexample,inthecourseofanormaldayweusewords,we

communicate,wetradeideaswithothersbutwerarely(ifever)wonderaboutthenature

ofwords,orhowhumancommunicationworks,orhowotherpeopleunderstandwhatwe

say.Justasacompetentbicycleridersimplyridesabike,weascompetentwordusers

simplyusewords.Sometimesachangeinfamiliarcircumstanceslikelearningtoride

afixedgearbicycleasopposedtoanordinarycoastingbicycleinspiresthoughtsabout

orinvestigationsintoourordinaryactivities.

Often,philosophyisextraordinarytreatmentoftheordinary.Philosophersmightmarvel

atthefactthatwecanusewordsandmeansomethingbythem.Imightmarvelatthefact

thatanideainmyheadcangetintoanother'sheadsimplybyusingwordsorgestures.

Thismightinspireustoinvestigatehowmeaningcomesabout,orwemightinvestigate

howweknowthatmyideaisinyourhead,andsoon.Investigationintomeaning,for

example,oftentakestheformofadisruptionofhabits.Whenweinvestigatemeaning,

weaskhowandwhyweusewordswhichweusuallydononreflectivelyandwe

lookcloselyatwhateffectsourwordshaveintheworld.Thisresembleshowweundo

cyclinghabits:wepaycloseattentiontoactivitiesthatweordinarilydononreflectively.

Then,becauseofthisattention,welearnnewhabitsnewwaystoactnonreflectively

andweacquireskillsatpayingattentiontoouractionsinwaysthatwewerenotable

131
tobefore;welearnaboutournonreflectiveactions.Also,welearnwhenitisappropriate

toattendtotheseaspectsofouractions.Itwouldbetoooverwhelmingtohaveto

considerallofthisatoncewhilewriting,justasconstantattentiontowhenwecoast,

whenwebrake,whenandhowwesteer,andsoforthwouldlikelydistractustothepoint

ofcrashingonabicycle.

Perhapswepayattentiontomeaningasanaspectofwordusewhenweteachnewwords.

Studentswillbeinterestedinthemeaningofthewordsthatweexpectthemtolearn,and

soourtaskwillbetocommunicatewhatweordinarilydowiththeword.Weoftendo

thisbyshowingstudentshowtousewordsinsentences,orwemightinvestigatethe

etymologyofawordinorderclarifytheword'smeaning.

Justaswedonotalwaysattendtohowwecrankthepedalsonabicyclewhileweride,

wedonotalwaysattendtothephenomenathatwecallmeaning,ortotheexistenceof

otherminds,orthenatureandreliabilityofhumanexperience,andsoforth.However,

sometimesphilosophers'enthusiasmaboutdiscoveringnovelaspectsofourordinary

actionsinspiresthemtotreatmolehillslikemountains.Somephilosophersgetwrapped

upinpuzzlestothepointofcripplingordinaryactivities,ratherthanenhancingour

understandingofthoseactivities42.

42
Cf.PI133:...TherealdiscoveryistheonethatmakesmecapableofstoppingdongphilosophywhenI
wantto.

132
Keepingthepurposeofphilosophicalinvestigationinmindhelpstopreventoverzealous

applicationofparticularphilosophicaltoolsandtechniques.Competenttoolusersknow

notonlyhowtousetheirtools,butwhentousethemaswell.Ouraim,asphilosophers,

isoftentogetsufficientlyskilledatusingspecificmethodsandtechniquessothatwecan

usetheminthemomentnonreflectivelyratherthanonlydeliberatelyorwhile

distractedbyaninvestigation.Tounderstandwhentoinvoketalkofaspecifictechnique,

tounderstandwhenitisappropriatetodophilosophicalanalysisorexplanation,to

understandwhentosimplydowhatyouknowyoucandothisismasteringa

technique;thisismakingityourown.Masteryisarefinedabilitytoactinthe

moment.

133
9.PresentTense

Whereweexaminehowwetalkabouttheskillsthatweaimtoimprovein
termsofprediction,execution,andevaluation.

Follows:8.Undoing&DevelopingHabits,whereweexaminedthe
importanceoflearningtotrainourattentiononhelpfulaspectsofthe
activitiesthatweintendtoimproveasopposedtocontinuingtousethe
sametoolsandtechniqueswithoutreevaluatingtheireffectiveness,given
ourpurposes.

InPhilosophicalInvestigations,Wittgensteindirectlyaddressesthinkingandhowwe

mightdescribewhatgoesoninourheadswhileweactthoughtfully.Forexample:

318.SupposewethinkwhilewetalkorwriteImeanaswenormallydo
weshallnotingeneralsaythatwethinkquickerthanwetalk;the
thoughtseemsnottobeseparatefromtheexpression.Ontheotherhand,
however,onedoesspeakofthespeedofthought;ofhowathoughtgoes
throughone'sheadlikelightning;howproblemsbecomecleartousina
flash,andsoon.Soitisnaturaltoaskifthesamethinghappensin
lightninglikethoughtonlyextremelyacceleratedaswhenwetalk
and'thinkwhilewetalk.'Sothatinthefirstcasetheclockworkrunsdown
allatonce,butinthesecondbitbybit,brakedbythewords.

HereWittgensteinexpressessomethingofafrustration:perhapsthatwedonothave

adequatewordstodescribewhathappensinthemoment,becausedescriptionofanevent

issomethingthatwedoafterthefact.Wedonotsaywhatagreatservebeforethe

tennisplayerstrikestheball.Wedonotlaughatapunchlinebeforethecomedian

deliversit.Wedonotsaythatisagoodargumentbeforethephilosopherconstructsit.

Ofthetennisplayer,wemightsayshe'sservingwellIbetthisonewillbeanace.

134
Ofthecomedian:Hisdeliveryissowelltimed,thisshouldbegoodforalaugh.Ofthe

philosopher:Hehasbeenstudyinglinguisticssohisnewargumentsoughttobe

innovative.Thesearepredictivestatementsinthefuturetense,ifyouwill.

Evaluations,somewhatsymmetrically,areinthepasttense.Whatwedointhe

seeminglyinfinitesimaltimebetweenthetwois(toperform)ourskill.Andsothe

challengehereistodescribehowtoimproveourskillsbytalkingaboutwhatgoeson

beforeandaftertheirexercise.

Therelationshipbetweenprediction,execution,andevaluationiscomplicated,andwe

needtopaycloseattentiontotheverbsweusetoconnectagentswithoutcomes

namely,wepaycloseattentiontoactiveverbs,asopposedtoattributiveverbs(especially

formsoftobe).Expendingthiseffortnowshouldresultinasortofeffortlessfuture

executionoftheskillthatweexercise(here,ofcourse,philosophy).Callitacompetence

oramastery,oraskillthatwehoneorsharpenourinteresthereisintalkingabout

whatgoesonbetweenIintendandIdid.

Onemightobjectthatwecannarratewhileweperformsomeaction.Public

demonstrationsofmechanicalskillsoftentakethisformsuchasachefpublicly

preparingadish,oraglassblowerdemonstratinganddescribinghowhecraftsavase.At

abicyclewheelbuildingseminar,theinstructormightdescribehisactions:NowI

tighteneachspokeaquarterturn...NowIcheckwherethewheelisn'ttrue...NowI

135
checkthespoketension...etc.Thetimingofhiswordsmightmatchhisactionsquite

closely,buthisevaluativestatementscannot.Presenttenseevaluationssoundoddtothe

ear.SayingIdothiswellasheadjustsaspoketotruetherimdoesnotsoundlikea

competentevaluationhehasnotevencheckedhisworkyet.Eventhisisaboutas

closeasyoucangetissomethingtosayaftermakinganadjustment,insofarasitisan

evaluativestatement.

Publicdescriptionpicksoutaspectsofouractionsthatwefeelshouldbedescribedtoour

audience.Overtime,wedeveloptheabilitytodeterminewhethertalkingaboutthisor

thataspectofwhatweareuptowillhelpouraudiencegetourpoint.Welearntopick

outwhatmakesouractionssignificantwhatweneedtosayinordertogetothersto

followourinstructionstogoonwithus.Forexample,thewheelbuilderwho

describeshowhesitsonhischairwhilebuildingthewheelfailstohighlightthemore

importantpointgettingthewheelstraightandstrongbyadjustingspoketensionsand

keepingakeeneyeontrueness.(Butwecanimagineasituationwheredescribinghow

yousitisimportant,e.g.,atthewheelbuildingseminarforpeoplewithlowerbackpain.

Butsuchacaseisfarfromrunofthemill.)43

43
Cf.Zettel,100ff.:

136
Whenwerideabicycle,wesimplyride.Wedonotnormallyattendtowhatweneedto

dotoremainupright,orhowtosteer,orhowtomoveourlegstoturnthecranks.We

attendtosuchthingswhensomethinghappensthatmakesthemseemimmediately

relevant.Wemighthitapothole,andinaninstant,weattendtoourbalance;wemight

gathermorespeedthanweareusedtoonadownhill,andinaninstant,weattendtoour

steeringabilities;wemightbegintotireafterhoursofriding,andsuddenlyweneedto

thinkabouthowtoconserveenergy.Whenweattendtoourskills,weconsiderwhat

workedforusinthepastandhowwecanapplythesetechniquesinthemoment.What

didwedotoremainuprightwhenwelearnedtorideabicycle?Whatdidwedotoretain

controlofthemachinewhenwefirststartedgoingfast?Whatcanwedotomakeour

crankingmotionmoreefficientandtherebylesstiring?Wehopetoidentifyatechnique

100.Letusimaginesomeonedoingworkthatinvolvescomparison,trial,choice.Sayheis
constructinganapplianceoutofvariousbitsofstuffwithagivensetoftools.Everynowandthen
thereistheproblem'ShouldIusethisbit?'Thebitisrejected,anotheristried.Bitsaretentatively
puttogether,thendismantled;helooksforonethatfitsetc.,etc.Inowimaginethatthiswhole
procedureisfilmed.Theworkerperhapsalsoproducessoundeffectslike'hm'or'ha!'Asitwere
soundsofhesitation,suddenfinding,decision,satisfaction,dissatisfaction.Buthedoesnotuttera
singleword.Thosesoundeffectsmaybeincludedinthefilm.Ihavethefilmshewnme,andnowI
inventasoliloquyfortheworker,thingsthatfithismannerofwork,itsrhythm,hisplayofexpression,
hisgesturesandspontaneousnoises;theycorrespondtoallthis.SoIsometimesmakehimsay'No,that
bitistoolong,perhapsanother'llfitbetter.'Or'WhatamItodonow?''Gotit!'Or'That's
notbad'etc.
Iftheworkercantalkwoulditbeafalsificationofwhatactuallygoesonifheweretodescribethat
preciselyandweretosaye.g.,'ThenIthought:no,thatwon'tdo,Imusttryitanotherway'andsoon
althoughhehadneitherspokenduringtheworknorimaginedthesewords?
Iwanttosay:Mayhenotlatergivehiswordlessthoughtsinwords?Andinsuchafashionthatwe,
whomightseetheworkinprogress,couldacceptthisaccount?Andallthemore,ifwehadoften
watchedthemanworking,notjustonce?
101.Ofcoursewecannotseparatehis'thinking'fromhisactivity.Forthethinkingisnotan
accompanimentofthework,anymorethanofthoughtfulspeech.

137
thatwecanemployinthemomentthatwillallowustoconcentrateonouroverall

purposesmorethanonatemporarysituation,inthiscase.

Sometimes,wewillapplylessonsfromwhatwehavedoneinthepasttowhatwewilldo

later,andincaseslikethis,wewillsaythatwelearnedsomething.Intheprocessthatwe

calllearning,weattendtospecificaspectsofouractivitiesforthepurposeofimproving

ourskillsatdoingthatactivity.Wereviewwhatwedid,weformulatehints,reminders,

rulesofthumbandsuch,andweapplythoserules(etc.)asweattendtowhatwedoin

futureperformances.Whenwepractice,weattendmorecloselytothepresentthanwhen

weperform.Eventually,wegetsufficientlygoodatanaspectoftheactivitythatweno

longerneedtoattendtoitinthepresent(ortobeconsciousofwhatwearedoing).We

develop,sharpen,ormasteraskill.

Butanygivenaspectisnotallthatwecanattendtoaswelearn.Attentiontopast

performanceswillinevitablybringoutdifferentaspectsofourpresentskillsthatwecan

sharpen,assuming,asalways,thatourgoalisimprovement.Sharpeningourwriting

skillsislikethisandconsequently,sharpeningourskillsatdoingphilosophyislike

thisaswell.Forexample,ifwewanttoadjustahabitofwritinginthepassivevoice,at

firstittakesconsiderableeffortandattentiontoconstructactivesentences.Butlaterthis

becomesnatural;itissimplyhowonewrites.Whenworkingondrafts,wecanattendto

anaspectofwhatwewroteafterwewroteit.Thisisspecificattentiontoapast

138
performanceforaparticularpurposeandeventually,wewillbeabletosimplywrite

withoutpayingattentiontothisparticularpurpose,ortoattendtoamoregeneralpurpose

instead.Learningtohitatennisballresemblesthisaswell:atfirst,playersstruggleto

makecontactontheracket'ssweetspot,tomovetheirwristscorrectlyduringthestroke,

andsoforth.Eventually,thereissimplywriting,thereissimplythebackhand,andsoon.

Wetalkaboutouractionsafterweperformtheactions.Weevaluateourpiano

performances,weevaluatehowwellweplayedinatennismatch,weevaluatewhether

ourjokesworkedforthecrowdafterthefact.Evenifweadjustouractionsinthemidst

ofaperformanceifwerespondtoouraudienceonthespotwedosoafterwe

evaluatetheaudience'sreactionorsometangibleresultsofwhatwehavedone.For

example,Imighttellajokeandtheaudiencedoesnotlaugh.Isensethatthetopicisnot

suitedtotheirtastes,orIsensethatIrushedtothepunchline,soIadjustwhataspectsof

thejokesIemphasize,orIslowdownmydeliverybyinsertingincredulousgesturesinto

myact.MymarkofsuccessisgettingtheresultthatIanticipated.

Mypredictiveandmyevaluativethoughtsconvergeinacompetence.Andthelocationof

thatcompetenceisItheactiveagent44.

44
ThismarksonepathtotracethroughWittgenstein,suggestiveofKant'spointsaboutspace,time,and
rationalagency.Ofcourse,thisisamuchmorecomplexthesisthancanbedefendedhere,butthis
gestureisanindicationofhowdeeply(anddifferently)theseconcernsrunthroughmuchphilosophical
inquiry.

139
 *

Asimilarprocessdescribeshowwelearnwordsanddevelopconcepts.Overtime,we

learntousewordseffortlessly.Wepickoutnewwordsintheflowofconversations,and

westarttodevelopoursenseofhowtheyfitwhichistosay,whatthewordsmean.

Wepayattentiontowhenconversationpartnersusecertainwords,howtheirinflections

changewhentheyusethesewords,theirfacialexpressions,theirgestures,thereactionsof

othersintheconversation,andsoon.Afterawhile,welearnthemeaningofthenew

wordandwenolongerpaycloseattentiontoitsuse,ortoitsfit.Thatis,wearenow

competenttoevaluatewhatcountsasacorrectuseofaword45.Competenceamountsto

somethinglike:wenolongerneedtopayattentiontohowweusethewordwhileweuse

it.

WittgensteinraisessimilarissueslaterinPhilosophicalInvestigations:

Onlyifyouhavelearnttocalculateonpaperoroutloudcan
youbemadetograsp,bymeansofthisconcept,whatcalculatinginthe
headis.
...
Someonetellsme:Waitformebythebank.Question:Didyou,
asyouweresayingtheword,meanthisbank?Thisquestionisofthe
samekindasDidyouintendtosaysuchandsuchtohimonyourwayto
meethim?Itreferstoadefinitetime(thetimeofwalking,astheformer
questionreferstothetimeofspeaking)butnottoanexperienceduring
thattime.Meaningisaslittleanexperienceasintending.
45
Whatcountsascorrectisfreetochangeaswell.Meaning,use,andevaluationareallmovingtargets.

140
 Butwhatdistinguishesthemfromexperience?Theyhaveno
experiencecontent.Forthecontents(imagesforinstance)which
accompanyandillustratethemarenotthemeaningorintending.

Theintentionwithwhichoneactsdoesnot'accompany'theaction
anymorethanthethought'accompanies'speech.Thoughtandintention
areneither'articulated'nor'nonarticulated';tobecomparedneitherwitha
singlenotewhichsoundsduringtheactingorspeakingnorwithatune.

'Talking'(whetheroutloudorsilently)and'thinking'arenot
conceptsofthesamekind;eventhoughtheyareinclosestconnexion.
(PI,II.xi.,p2167)

Inthevocabularywehavedevelopedhere,thoughtdoesnotaccompanyspeech;thought

isanaspectofspeechthatwecandescribe(forcertainpurposes)afterwehavespoken.

Wemightsaythatourabilitytothinkisourcompetence.Wemightsaythatourintention

isouraction.Ouroutwardexpressionsareourinwardexpressions46.

WhenwesayIhaveathought,wedonotmeanthatwebothhaveathoughtandthat

wearecurrentlythinkingthatwehaveathought47.TosayIhaveathoughtisto

reportthatsomethingoccurredtoyou(pasttense),orisintheprocessofforming;itisnot

tosaythatyouareinpossessionofathing;itistosaythatyouarepreparedtosay

something,forsomegivenreason.

46
HereweshouldtreatisliketheisinLemonsareyellow.
47
Comparetheoldjoke:QCanIaskyouaquestion?AYoujustdid.

141
Haveathought,inthepresenttense,isnotapresentaction;itdescribesaneventofthe

pastnamelytheoccurrenceofathoughtthatathoughtoccurredtoyouand

suggeststhatoneispreparedtosayordosomethingrelevanttothesituationinwhichhe

hadthethought.Have,inthiscase,attributesapropertyoradispositionorastate,etc.

Differently:have,inthiscaseislingering,asinIhaveacold,incontrastto,say,a

tennispartneraskingwhereistheball?towhichIrespondIhaveit.

Reflectionontheformersenseofhaveisofinteresthere.Philosophershavethoughts,

skills,ideas,notions,andsoforth.Andtoreflectonthevariouswaysinwhichwehave

suchthingsistoexerciseaphilosophicalskill48.

48
Havinglocatesagency,andtheactive,reasoningagentissquarelylocatedinthepresent,but
describedbyothersinthefuture,intermsofintention,andinthepast,intermsofevaluation.Others
donotdescribemyIinthepresenttense.Again,thisisacomplexpoint,andhereIonlypointout
hownaturallyitseemstoariseinthecontextofthisinvestigation.

142
10.DoubtUponReflection

Whereweexaminetheimportanceofshared(orrelevantlysimilar)
intentionsforgoingontogether,whichisessentialforsuccessful
teacherstudentinteractions,andconsequentlyskillbuilding.

Follows:7.DistinctionUponReflection,whereweexaminedthe
relationshipbetweenpartsofanactionandawholeaction,emphasizing
thatourabilitytoidentifyaspectsofanactivityisessentialtoour
abilitytoimproveourcompetencewiththatactivity.

SaythatItrainaparrottoutterafewwords.WhenIentertheroom,theparrotsquawks,

Hello.IimmediatelyrecognizetheutteranceasthewordHello,butIdonotwantto

saythatthebirdmeanttogreetme.Thoughitappearsthatthebirdusedtheword

correctly,andthoughthebirdmightevenexhibitgreetinglikebehavior,Ihave

misgivingsaboutthesupposedgreetingbecauseaparrotutteredit.Iresistthinkingthat

meaningfulusesofwordssometimescomeoutofnonhumanentities,foritappearsthat

meaning,inlanguage,isahumanphenomenon.Idonotbelievethattheparrotmeans

anythingbythesoundhemakes,forhesimplycannotgetwhatitisliketoutterasocial

greeting.ThebirddoesnotdowhatIdowhenIsayhello.

PerhapsIteachathreeyearoldchildtousethewordspsychologicalphenomenonina

correctway.Itellthechildthatwheneverhehearssomeonesaythewordshappyor

sadorhungry,heistorespondthatisapsychologicalphenomenon.Isthisa

meaningfuluseofthesewords?Again,weshouldhavemisgivingsbutthistimethe

143
issueisnotthehumanityofthespeaker.Howcanitbe,wethink,thatathreeyearold

childunderstandswhatcountsasapsychologicalphenomenon?Butagain,byall

appearances,thechildusedthewordscorrectly,thoughweshouldbeskepticalthathe

intendedtodoso,orthatheintendstoconveywhatwewouldwhenweusethesame

words.Heintends,perhaps,tofollowaninstruction,buthecannotpossiblymeanwhat

hesaid49.

Wecouldestablishthatthechild,theparrot,arobotquestionablelanguageusers

cannotpassatestwherewechallengetheirusageskillsinordinaryconversation50.Once

49
Cf.PI,IIxi,p215andremarks43and138:
43.Foralargeclassofcasesthoughnotforallinwhichweemploytheword'meaning'itcan
bedefinedthus:themeaningofawordisitsuseinthelanguage.
Andthemeaningofanameissometimesexplainedbypointingtoitsbearer.
138.Butcan'tthemeaningofawordthatIunderstandfitthesenseofasentencethatIunderstand?
Orthemeaningofonewordfitthemeaningofanother?Ofcourse,ifthemeaningistheusewe
makeoftheword,itmakesnosensetospeakofsuch'fitting'.Butweunderstandthemeaningofa
wordwhenwehearorsayit;wegraspinaflash,andwhatwegraspinthiswayissurelysomething
differentfromthe'use'whichisextendedintime!
Someinterpretersmightreadremark43asWittgenstein'sassertionthatmeaningisusethough
use,here,isofferedasahelpfulthingtotalkaboutwhenwedefinemeaning.Weonlydefine
meaningunderexoticcircumstances,andthosecircumstancesofteninvolvephilosophical
investigation.Ourtaskhereisnottodefinewords;ourtaskistodevelopacompetencewithaspecific
vocabulary.
Remark138helpsmakefurthersenseofhowuseandmeaningmightbeconnectedtosomethinglike
fit,whichisclosetohowIusethewordgethere.Gettingthemeaningofaworddoesnotequate
toourcapacitytoevaluate,forexample,grammaticallycorrectusageofaword.Mycloudhurtsisa
grammaticallycorrectuseofcloud,butthesewords,whichwegraspinaninstantasitwere,rarely
fittogether.Whatskillsandexperiencesweneedtograspinaninstantwhichinourvocabulary
isclosetogetting,orgraspingthatonethingfollowsanotheristhefocusofourinvestigation.
Useispartofthestory,inasenseofusesomewhatsynonymouswithgrammaticallycorrect
usage.Buttoinvestigatesuitable,orpurposefulusesofwordsrequiresadifferentkindofeffort.
Thisispartofsuchaneffort.
50
Andwhatformthesechallengestakewilldependuponourpurposes.Wemightbeinterestedintheir
understandingofmetaphor,orcadence,orimagery,orverbchoice,etc.

144
established,wemightsay,see,thechilddoesnotreallyknowthemeaningofthose

words.Butwhywouldwenotdoubtaphilosophyprofessorwhohadnotyetpasseda

similartest?Andmoreover,shouldweperformatestforeverywordthatthechildorthe

professorutters?Oftheprofessor,wemightsaywehavenoreasontodoubt.Ofthe

otherwords,wemightsaythatthereisnotesttodetermineifsomeoneunderstandshow

tousethewordorunderstandsitsmeaning.Howwouldweevaluate,forexample,

whetheralanguageuserunderstandsthewordisorthis?

Howwouldwedescribethemeaningofthewordthe?Whatexplanatorymethodor

techniquewillhelpusgivethemeaningofthe?Howwouldthismethoddifferfrom

givingthemeaningofsquareorgiraffeorExcalibur?Moreover,whydowetend

tothinkthateverywordweusehasadefinable,orfixed,orostensivemeaning?

Compare:wedonotthinkthatallwordshavesynonymsorantonyms.Forexample,ifa

philosopherweretoaskuswhatistheoppositeof'giraffe'wewouldprobablynot

knowwhatsortofresponseheexpectedtohear51.Similarly,wegetwhichwordswe

wouldquizsomeoneaboutifwedoubtedtheircompetencewithourlanguage,because

gettingthisisoneaspectofknowingourlanguage.WedonotwonderwhetherPollythe

ParrotknowsthemeaningofthewordawhenshesquawksPollywantacracker.

Forthispurpose,aisnotthesortofwordthatwetreatasifithasameaningand

whywegraspthisfactdoesnotdependonatheoryofmeaning,justasourgraspofthe

51
Asufficientlyrobustcontextmightmakeclearwhatmightcountasanantonymhere,butwecan
imaginethatitwouldbefarfromanordinary,runofthemillcase.

145
factthatgiraffedoesnothaveanantonymdoesnotdependonatheoryofsynonymy.

Graspingthesesortsofthingsisourcompetencewithourlanguage.Wedonot

necessarilyneedcomplicatedevaluativetools;simplyrecognizingthatthereisaquestion

isoneformofevaluation.

Havingareasontodoubt,similartobeingpuzzledaboutthemeaningofaword,turnsout

tobedazzlinglycomplicateduponreflection.Uponreflection,wecanreadintentions

intoactionstheactionsofthepianostudent,oftheparrot,ofthethreeyearold,ofthe

robot,ofthephilosophyprofessor.Webringourskills,ourcompetences,our

understandingourcapacitytogoontogethertoanyinterpretivetask.

Wereadothers'intentionsaswereadourown.Weempathize,wepictureourselves

performingthesameaction,wetrytheactionsourselves.Werepeattheactor'swordsin

asimilarstyle,weenthusiasticallymimictheswingofthetennisplayer,webeam

gleefullywhenacomedian'saudiencelaughswithus.Inanysuccessfulperformance,

actorandaudience,readerandwriter,athleteandfan,teacherandstudentsilentlyshare

theirintentionsandexpectationstheygetoneanother.Andthisispartlytheoriginof

ourdoubtabouthowtheparrot,therobot,thethreeyearolduseswords:wedonotthink

146
thattheyareusingourlanguage.Theymightusethesamewordsthatweuse,butitdoes

notsoundlikeourlanguage52?

Thatweareabletorecognizeeachothers'intentionssuggeststhatwearealsoableto

recognizeeachothers'mistakesthatweareabletoevaluateoneanother.Whenthe

tennisplayerhitstheballoutofbounds,wecanimaginethatshedidnotintendtodo

exactlythat,andsosheandweshareinherdisappointment.Whenthecomedian'stiming

isoff,whenhisjokebombs,weimaginethathemeantittobefunny,andsowesharehis

embarrassment.Whenawriter'sargumentconfusesus,weimaginethatitwasmeantto

clarify,andsoweshareinthefeelingoffailurethathewouldfeelwerehetolearnofour

confusion(suchasthroughabookreview).

Ifwefoundoutthatthetennisplayerdidnotintendtohittheballinbounds,thatthe

comediandidnotintendtomakeuslaugh,thatthephilosopherintendedtoconfusethe

reader,wewouldnotknowwhattomakeoftheiractions.Whatwetooktobeanerror,

52
Cf.Zettel,103:Weshallbemakinganimportantdistinctionbetweencreaturesthatcanlearntodo
work,evencomplicatedwork,ina'mechanical'way,andthosethatmaketrialsandcomparisonsas
theywork.Butwhatshouldbecalled'makingtrials'and'comparisons'caninturnbeexplained
onlybygivingexamples,andtheseexampleswillbetakenfromourlifeorfromalifethatislikeours.
InWittgenstein'svocabulary:situationslikethosecurrentlyunderinvestigationaresituationsinwhich
wefindourselvespuzzledbyoratoddswithdifferentformsoflifeatechnicaltermhintedatin
thisextraction.Heoftenusesformoflifetohelpexplainthesourcesofourdoubts,misgivings,
hesitations,puzzles,andsoforthmuchlikewedointhekindofexplanationandinvestigationwe
aredoinghere,butwithoutrelyingonWittgenstein'stechnicalvocabulary.

147
theperformerdidnotrecognizeassuchandwewonderhowthiscanbe?Howisit

thatsomeonewhoappearstobeplayingtenniscouldthinkthattryingtohittheballin

boundsisanerror?Itisnotthatwedisagreeaboutthegame:itismorelikeweare

playingdifferentgamesasifwecannoteffectivelycommunicateaboutthegame.We

clearlyarenotgoingontogether.Wedonotgettheparticipants'actionshowone

actionfollowsfromthelast.

Similarly,publiclysharingyourdoubtaboutsomethingdependsongoingontogether.

Whenaneconomistsaystousthatshedoesnotthinkthattheeconomywillrebound

quickly,forvariousstatedreasons,wecandoubtthatheranalysisiscorrectforother

variousreasons,andwecanprobablycometosomeagreement,oratleastrecognizethe

sourcesofourdisagreement.Butiftheeconomistsaystousthatshethinksallhard

currencywillturnintocheesebytheendofnextmonth,wecannotevendisagreewithher

assertion.Wehavenowaytomakecontactwithit,insofaraswehaveneverseenpaper

ormetalturnintoadairyproductandwedonotexpecttoeverseesuchathing.We

reactsimilarlytotheskepticwhoassertsthathecannotbesureabouttheexistenceofthe

externalworld.Wewonderwhatsensethismakesofsure;howcouldanyonebelieve

suchathing?Howcouldanyoneevenlearnthewordsurewhiledoubtingthe

existenceoftheworld?

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Theworld,itseems,iswherewelearnthewordsure,aswellastheworddoubt

weusethesewordsbecausewelearnedthemintheworld.Theworld,itseems,isthe

sourceofoursharedlanguage.Thewordssure,certainty,doubt,andsoforth

wouldnotarisewereitnotfortheworld'sexistenceinsofarashumancommunication

requiresmultiplehumanagents,andthoseagentsmustoccupyaspace.Andsowe

shouldwonderhowwecouldgoonwithsomeonewhoappearedtodenyourconditions

forgoingon.

Thoughwemightsaythattheskepticismistaken,werewetoaccusehimofamistake,he

wouldnotrecognizeitassuch.Hemightsimilarlywonderhowitisthatoursenseof

sureextendstosomethingmysterious,liketheexistenceofmatter,forexample,about

whichwedonotadmitthepossibilityofamistake.

Caseswherethenotionsofmistakeanddoubtbreakdownareexoticandrare.

Usually,puzzlesabouthowthingsshouldbe,suchasdiscussionbetweenD.andmyself

abouthowweshouldarrangeanaudiorecording,gosmoothly.Wediscuss,wedevelop

ideastogether,weconversecasually,wecometosomeagreementabouthowtoproceed.

Coachesareabletohelptennisplayersimprovebecausetheywouldallagreeeven

thoughtheyneverhavetosaythisthattheballneedstoremaininbounds.Comedians

improvetheirskillsbecausetheyagree,againsilently,thatmakinganaudiencelaughis

149
thepointoftheirvocation.Andwritersandphilosophersworktoimproveupontheir

ideasbecauseclarityisparamountinthefield.

Inallofthesecases,wehavelearnedthroughsimpleexperience,throughcodifiedrules,

throughpersonalpractice,andsoon,torecognizewhatworksandwhatdoesnotwork

withinthefield.Thatis,welearnwhatmakeshittingaballwitharacketandrunning

aroundacourtplayingtennis;welearnwhatmakesstandinginfrontofacrowdand

speakinginabsurditiescomedy;welearnwhatsortsoftopics,thinkingstyles,and

investigativemethodsarephilosophy.Welearntoconnecttechnicalvocabularieswith

specificactions.Andwhenwedevelopshorthandsorparaphrasesofthelongerstories

thatgivesignificancetotheseconnections,wecalltheseconcepts.

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11.GettingStyle

Whereweinvestigatetheimpactthatcontexthasongoingontogether.

Follows:6.GettingIt,whereweinvestigatedsomeofthesubtletiesof
learningtousenewwords,andhowthisinfluencesthewaythatwepay
attentiontoaspectsofwhatwelearn.Thissuggestedhowwemight
understandourtechnicaluseofthewordintention.

Thereader'sstyleshouldcomplementthewriter'sstyleinorderforthereadertobest

understandthewriter'sintentionsthoughunderstandingthewriter'sintentionswillnot

alwaysbethereader'spurpose.Justasthebestmusicianshavemasteredtheir

instrumentsinawidevarietyofperformancestyles,thebestreaderscanreadinmany

voices.ReadingWittgenstein'sworksandgettingthem,aswegetajoke,takespractice.

KnowingaboutWittgensteinandhowhewroteandwhathisphilosophicalinterestswere

helpsustolearnhowtoreadhisworks.Andwecangetbetteratreadinghisworksaswe

learnmoreabouthiswritingandthinkingprocesses,andaswecontinuetothinkseriously

abouthisideaspossiblytryingtoconnectthemtoourown,andmakingsenseofhow

hisphilosophicalmethodinfluencestheresultsofhisinvestigations.Asapointof

contrast,ifwereadaRaymondChandlernovelthesamewaywereadWittgenstein's

works,wewouldlikelybarelygraspthatthereisamysterytobesolvedwemight

thinkthatthearcofthepulpdetectivestoryisanargumentinfavorofaparticular

investigativemethodratherthanjustChandler'swritingstyle.Wemightmisread

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Chandler'scolorfulsimilesasliteraldescriptionsofstatesofaffairsintheworld,butthey

aremoreillustrativeofaseedy,urbanaestheticthananattempttoobjectivelycatalog

senseimpressions.

IfaphilosophystudentreadsWittgensteininthesamewayhereads,say,Kant,thenthe

studentwillnotgetwhatWittgensteinaimstoaccomplish.Itwillnotbeclearwhyor

howonepointfollowsfromanother.Wedonotreadanewspaperinthesamewaythat

wereadAristotle,andwedonotreadWittgensteinlikewereadanewspaper.

Eachtimethroughatext,onewillinevitablypickupondifferentideasorthemes.Justas

notwomatchesareidenticalintennis,chess,orbicycleracing,andnotwoperformances

ofaconcertoorofaplayareidentical,notworeadingsofatextareexactlythesame.At

theveryleast,thereaderisamoreexperiencedreaderthenexttimearoundsimplyfor

havingreadthetextpreviously.Thereaderdevelopsasenseofthewriter'sstyle.The

readerbetterunderstandsthewriter'spointofview;perhapshebecomesmore

sympatheticwiththewriter'scontentiousideasafteradditionaltimesthroughthetext.Or

onthecontrary,perhapsthereadercomestounderstandthatthewriterissloppierthan

uponfirstglance.Perhapsthereadercomestoviewtheideasexpressedinthetextas

superficial,orpoorlyargued,orthattheexpressionisstylisticallyflawed.

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Insofarasreadingisperformance,wecangetabettersenseoftherelationshipsbetween

student,instructor,andwriterbyinvestigatingvariousaspectsofotherperformances,and

howallthoseinvolvedgetoneanother.

Ametaphorillustratesthepoint:awrittenphilosophicalworkisthephilosopher'ssheet

music.Asreader,thephilosopherresemblestheperformer.Aswriter,thephilosopheris

thecomposer.Thetwo,however,oftenfadeintooneanother.

Musiciansreadsheetmusic,interpretit,arrangeit,workoutproperfingerings,make

marginnotesandsoforth,sothatwhentheyperformthepiece,theaudiencewill

appreciatetheirinterpretationasperformance.Philosophersreadbooksandarticles,they

gleannewideasornewexpressionsoffamiliarideas,theycritiquetheseideas,theymake

notesandsoforth,sothatwhentheywriteorteach,theywillaccuratelyandconvincingly

communicatetheirinterpretationsofbooksorconversationsorideas.Ingeneral,the

audiencegetswhattheperformerisuptowhattheperformer'stakeonthepieceis.

Theaudienceisnotpuzzledbywhatcomesnext;thisseemstofollowfromthat.

Whenamusicianpractices,shenoticeswhichpassagestroubleherwhereherskills

needsharpening,orwhereshedoesnotfeelconnectedtothecomposition.Shewillwork

153
onthosepassages,perhapsplayingafewmeasurespriortothetroublespot,thenplaying

throughthetroublespot,thenfinishingwithafeweasilyplayedmeasures.

Shemightapproachdifficultperformancesfromdifferentangles.Forexample,ifshe

tendstorushthroughahardspot,shemightconsciouslyslowdownorplayathalfspeed

toreinforceherabilitytodeterminethetempo.Perhapsatroublespotremindsherof

anotherpiecethatgavehersimilardifficulty.Shemightthenreturntothatpieceand

workthroughitagaintoreinforcetheskillsthatshebuiltthen.Shemightchoosetoplay

indifferentlocations,atdifferenttimes,andsoon.Whenpracticingherskills,the

musicianoftenvariesorexperimentswithhertechniquesandworkstobreakbadhabits

orpatternsinordertoimproveherperformance.Thisistosay:shewillbetterexpress

herintentionsherpictureofhowthecompositionshouldsoundinawaythatthe

audiencewillappreciate.

Whenaperformerreturnstoapieceafterawhile,shemightrediscoverit.Itcouldbe

thatherskillshaveimproveddramaticallysinceshefirstlearnedthepiece,andnowher

perspectiveonhowtoplayithaschanged.Perhapssheunderstandsthestructureofthe

piecebetter,orfeelsthatshehasabettersenseofwhatthecomposeraimedto

communicateinhiscomposition.Interveningexperienceinevitablyaltersone's

perspectiveonwhatonealreadyknowsoralreadycando.

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Awritermightwriteanoutlineorasketchofanidea(somethingakintosheetmusic)and

mightwriteafewversionsofapaperbasedonthatoutline.Hemightfindthatatcertain

placesthepacingofhisprosedoesnotsuitthetopicathand.Hemightrevisithisown

archivesandrereadsimilarmaterialthathethoughtworkedwellinthepast,orhemight

readanovelthatispacedasheintendstopacehiswork,justforinspiration.Todothisis

somethinglikeperformingasawriter.

Thistextdevelopedsimilarly.Itbeganasanarrangementofparagraphtopagelong

reflectionsonvariousrelatedphilosophicaltopics,partlyaimedatdevelopingafresh

pictureofhowtoteachcriticalwriting.Themostbasicpictureofthethen

underdevelopedmethodwasstrategicorpurposefulrearrangement.

Ratherthanimposeaperhapsinappropriatestructureonthisphilosophicalwork,Ichose

toallowitsstructuretoevolveorganicallythroughwriting,arranging,reading,

rearranging,editing,reading,andsoforth.Itoccurredtomethatthiskindofmethodwas

bothparalleltoWittgenstein'sinvestigativestyle,andtothestructureofagooddetective

story.ResearchintoWittgenstein'sbackground,particularlyviaRayMonk'sTheDuty

OfGenius,revealedhispenchantforpulpdetectivefictioncongruentwithmyinterest

infilmnoir.Consequently,RaymondChandlerandDashiellHammettwereinstant

influences,aswellasthewellregardedfilmversionsofTheBigSleepandTheThinMan.

Thissuggestedashapethatthealreadydevelopingpagesmighttake:establishwhatthe

155
mysteryis(largely,teachingphilosophy),introducethecharacters(examples),collect

clues(thinking,meaning,andotherphilosophicalpuzzles),andfigureouthowthe

cluestellastorythatanswersthemysteryallneatlysummedupataNickCharles

esquedinnerpartywhereallthekeyplayershearoutthedetective'stakeonhowthe

piecesfittogether.

Whilethetext'sshapedeveloped,itscontentandstyledevelopedaswell.PhilipMarlowe

isamanofaction,andthephilosophicaldetectiveshouldbeaswell.Ibegantofocuson

activeconnectionsbetweensubjectandobjectadifficulttaskinphilosophy,which

oftenreliesheavilyonisconnectionsorattributions.

Withactioncomesevaluation:whatdowethinkwillhappen,andhowdoweevaluate

whathappened?Attheinterfacebetweenthetwoistheactiveagent.Andsothetext,at

times,suggeststangentialdiscussionsofagency,includingrelationshipsbetween

worldlyevaluationandselfevaluation(moretocomeonthatpoint).

Furthermore,thetexthassomethingofafamiliardramaticstructure:exposition,followed

byrisingaction,climax,followedbyfallingaction,concludedwithdnouement.Butin

thiscase,thesymmetrybetweentherisingandfallingactionispronouncedso

pronouncedthatitsuggestsastructurerarelyseeninaphilosophicalwork.YetIfeelthat

itisawhollyappropriateexpositorydevice,giventhenatureofthecurrentinvestigation.

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Thepointisthis:tocreatethiswork,Iexercisedtechniquesanddevelopedstructures

foundinliterature,film,andacademicworks.ButIworkedtomarrythosetechniques

andstructuresintoahelpfulexpositoryformconstrainedincertainwaysbythesubject

matter,butpacedlikeagoodoldfashioneddetectivestory.

Inadditiontothedetectivestory,thisworkisinfluencedbyhypertext,whichIhavelong

thoughtofasavaluableheuristicforunderstandingWittgenstein'sworks.Anapparent

changeoftopicinWittgenstein'swritingsresembleswhatwedowhenweclicka

hyperlinkexceptthatgiventhelinearconstraintsofphilosophicalwriting,

Wittgensteinessentiallyclicksthelinkforthereader.

Inpreparingthistext,Inoticedmyselfcomingbacktoafewkeytopicsrepeatedly.AndI

noticedthatwhatIwroteatanearlypointwouldseemmorereasonableatalaterpoint,

afterIhadelaboratedonhowsomeofthekeytopicsconnectedtotheearlierpoint.This

inspiredacirculararrangement:weendwherewebegan.Butaroundtripthroughthe

textaccomplishesmorethanguidedrestatement:theexerciserequiredtomakethetrip

inevitablystrengthensthereader'sabilitytofindhiswayabout.Thereader,inthiscase,

shouldendupwithabettersenseofhowmeaning,intention,thinking,motivation,andso

forthconnecttophilosophicalinvestigations.

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Eachsectioninthefirsthalfofthetextmakesastatementaboutthisphilosophical,

investigativemethod,andmatchesupwithalatersectionthat,moreorless,elaborateson

theearlierstatement.Wemakethestatementsfirstinparttoshowhowtheyfit

togetherbeforewecanelaborateonthemsuccessfully,andinconjunctionwithone

another.

Again,thepointisthatavarietyofliteraryinfluencesinspirehowthisworkwaswritten,

muchasavarietyofmusicalinfluencesinspireaperformer'sdeliveryofanygiven

composition.Theanalogyisofcoursenotperfect:thisisnotaperformanceofan

alreadywrittencomposition.ThisisaperformanceofaworkthatIalsocomposed.And

sowewillprofitfromalsoconsideringcompositionalinfluences.

Composersandsongwritersoftensitwithaninstrument,sayapianooraguitar,andwork

outmelodies,chords,basslines,etc.Perhapstheyhavetunesintheirheadsandtryto

comeupwithtechniquesforplayingthosetunes.Thentheyworktodescribethose

techniquesinawrittenform,usuallybywritingsheetmusic.Perhapstheyalsorecord

roughversionsofwhattheyhavewrittensothattheyhaveahistoryofwhatsortsof

soundsoccurredtothemwhilewriting.

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Theprocessofexpressingapictureintheheadintheworldmightseemmysterioustoa

noncomposer,inparticular,ortoapersonunfamiliarwithexpressinginnovativeideas,

ingeneral53.Comedians,songwriters,improvisationalactors,andevenphilosophers,

oftenexpresstheirinnovationsinpublicperformances.Buttheirinnovationsshouldnot

soundsoforeignthattheaudienceortheperformerscannotconnectwiththepicture.

53
CompareTLP:
3.1Inapropositionathoughtfindsanexpressionthatcanbeperceivedbythesenses.
3.11Weusetheperceptiblesignofaproposition(spokenorwritten,etc.)asaprojectionofapossible
situation.
Themethodofprojectionistothinkofthesenseoftheproposition.
3.12Icallthesignwithwhichweexpressathoughtapropositionalsign.Andapropositionisa
propositionalsigninitsprojectiverelationtotheworld.
Also,PI,139:
Whensomeonesaystheword'cube'tome,forexample,Iknowwhatitmeans.Butcanthewholeuse
ofthewordcomebeforemymind,whenIunderstanditinthisway?
Well,butontheotherhandisn'tthemeaningofthewordalsodeterminedbythisuse?Andcanthese
waysofdeterminingmeaningconflict?Canwhatwegraspinaflashaccordwithause,fitorfailtofit
it?Andhowcanwhatispresenttousinaninstant,whatcomesbeforeourmindinaninstantfitause?
Whatreallycomesbeforeourmindwhenweunderstandaword?Isn'titsomethinglikeapicture?
Can'titbeapicture?
Well,supposethatapicturedoescomebeforeyourmindwhenyouheartheword'cube',saythe
drawingofacube.Inwhatsensecanthispicturefitorfailtofitauseoftheword'cube'?Perhaps
yousay:'It'squitesimple;ifthatpictureoccurstomeandIpointtoatriangularprismforinstance,
andsayitisacube,thenthisuseoftheworddoesn'tfitthepicture.'Butdoesn'titfit?Ihave
purposelysochosentheexamplethatitisquiteeasytoimagineamethodofprojectionaccordingto
whichthepicturedoesfitafterall.
Thepictureofthecubedidindeedsuggestacertainusetous,butitwaspossibleformetouseit
differently.
Hereweareinterestedintalkingabout,inWittgenstein'sterms,projectingathoughtintheworld.
Thewaywegoaboutdoingthisisamethodofprojection(sortof),andourabilitytoconveya
meaningful,orperhapsuseful,expressionofwhatisinourheadsisaskillthatwecanexerciseand
develop.Again,thatisourpointhere.

159
Acolleague,TimOuellette,wrotearesponsetoacriticismofapianocompositionwhose

thenstandardperformances,inhisestimation,werenotgoodrepresentationsofthe

writtenpiece;thiscompositionchallengesthetechnicalskillsofthebestpianists.He

summarizedhisanalysisoftheproblemsinvolvedinplayingcomplicatedpieces,suchas

theonesinquestion,asfollows:

...[W]emusicianscanonlyplaymusicallywhenwetrulyownthe
technicalrequirementsofthework,whenthecleverfingeringshavebeen
foundandtheexercisesdone;sometimeswemustwaituntilagreat
performershowsuswhatthemusiccanbe,togiveusastandardtowards
whichtostrive,toconvinceusthataparticularmessofgropingsarounda
resonatorcontainsbeauty.54

Ouellettesuggeststhatthecapacitytoplayextraordinarilycomplicatedcompositions

developsthroughintensepractice,andwhatwemightmetaphoricallyrefertoassoaking

inthepiece.Hissuggestionthatwe...canonlyplaymusicallywhen[orperhaps,after]

wetrulyownthetechnicalrequirements...indicatesthatthereismoretothe

performancethanthetechnicalrequirements;theperformerdevelopsasenseofthe

piece'smusicalityoverandabovetechnique.Pollini,theperformerinquestion,hadto

livewith[Boulez'sDeuxiemeSonate]for20yearsbeforehewasabletodelivera

masterperformancenowthedefiningperformanceofthepiece.Thisdoesnotsaythat

adifferentperformancecouldneveraccentuatenewaspectsofthecomposition;indeed,

54
Fromhttp://www.rhyschatham.net/nintiesRCwebsite/BvsS.html

160
weshouldexpectthatafuturevirtuosowillinterpretthecompositionsufficiently

differentlythatwemightcallhisarevolutionaryperformance.

ButitisthisfirstcommandperformancebyPollinithatgivesanaudienceaframeof

referencefromwhichtheycanjudgefutureperformances.Pollini'sperformancehelps

theaudienceunderstandthecompositionhowtohearit,whatcountsasamaster

performance,howitfitswithrelated,contemporarycompositions,andsoforth.Ittakes

anexceptionallyskilledinterpreterorperformertoshowus,inthiscase,howtohearthe

composition.

Similarlyinphilosophy,instructors,commentatorsprofessionalsanswerthecallto

helpstudentsandreaderslearntograspthesignificance,application,andfurther

possibilitiesofphilosophicalworks.Studentslearntogetthatthisisaphilosophical

investigation,whilethatisadetectivestoryjustastheylearntogetthatthisisa

competitivetennismatch,whilethatisapracticesessionwithacoach.Wewantstudents

novicesingeneraltorespondtoourtellingthemthatthisispractice,whilethatis

professionalengagement,withIgetit.Andthatweasphilosopherspickoutthisand

thattopic,andinvestigateinsuchdetailtosuchlengthsisanactivitythatstudents

needtocometoregardasreasonable,givenhowthedisciplinegoes.

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12.LearningToPerceive

Whereweexaminetherelationshipsbetweenlearningtoobserveanew
activity,improvingonesownskillswiththatactivity,andcomingto
understandtheactivity'sstandards.

Follows:5.Practice&Constraints,whereweconsideredthe
significanceoftheenvironmentinwhichwepracticeourskills,which
mightincludethelimitationsofwritteninstruction(suchaswithsheet
music),orlimitationsoftheactivitythatwepractice(suchasthemotions
necessarytopropelabicycle).Thissuggestedhowwemightunderstand
thesignificanceandlimitationsofourtechnicaluseoftheword
concept.

WhenIwatchatennismatch,Icanfollowtheparticipants'actions.Iknowwhatcomes

nextduringmatchplayserve,switchsides,playatiebreaker,etc.Iamfamiliarwith

therulesofthegame,Ihavewatchedmanymatches,Ihavetriedtoplay,playershave

explainedshotsandspinandstrokestome,andsoon.Someoneunfamiliarwiththe

gameneedstolearnhowtowatchthegame.Onemightstartbylearningtherulessoto

beabletofollowtheaction.Butwewouldnotlikelysayofthatpersonthathe

understandsthegame.Hemightnot,forexample,beabletodistinguishbetween

forehandandbackhandallheseesisthattheballtravelsoverthenetandhenotices

whereitbouncesinthecourtandwhethertheshotresultsinapointornot.Hemightnot

noticethenuancesoftheplayers'strokes,suchashowtheyimpartspintotheball.He

mightnotnoticehow,withdifferentspins,theballbouncesdifferently.Aspectator's

capacitytonoticeallofthesethings,andmore,isthespectator'scapacitytoappreciate

tennis.Wemightcharacterizethedevelopmentofthespectator'scapacitytounderstand

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tennisaslearningtoperceivethegameforexample,tocheerattherighttimes:aftera

wellexecutedaceserveratherthanduringthetoss.

Theexperiencedtennisspectatorunderstands,forexample,thatwhentheplayersswitch

sides,theyarenotplayingthoughswitchingsidesisclearlypartofplayingthe

game.Ifwequizthenovicespectatoraboutwhethertheplayersareplayingduringa

changeover,thenovicemightsay,Icantellthattheyarenotplayingrightnowbecause

theyarenotswingingtheirrackets.Butaretheyonly'playing'whentheyswingtheir

rackets?Wemightrespondbytellingthenovicethatweusethewordplayin

differentsenses:whenaquestionarisesaboutwhattheparticipantsaredoing,wesaythat

theyareplayingtennis.Butwhenthequestionisaboutwhenplaywillresume,we

mightrespondafterthechangeover.Playwillresume,whichmeansthattheplayers

arenotcurrentlyinplay,butthechangeoverisstillpartofplayingtennis.Andthisis

nottosaythattheparticipantsarebothplayingandnotplaying;rather,whatisin

questiondetermineshowweusethewordplay.Andlearningthesubtletyofusingthat

wordispartofunderstandingwhatisgoingoninatennismatch.Onelearnswhatcluster

ofobviouslydeliberateactions,takenasawhole,countasatennismatch.Welearnand

canidentifywhatcountsasatennismatchdespitethefactthatwewillneverbeableto

stateafulllistofdeliberateactionsthatcountasplayingtennis.Wegrasp,forexample,

whatdistinguisheswarmupfromplaying,whatdistinguishespracticefromwarmup,

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andwhatdistinguisheshittingatennisballagainstawallfromplayingamatch.We

becomecompetentperceiversoftennis.

Thisparallelsthethinkerandthephilosopher.Studentslearnwhenandhowtheirbest

thinkinghappens,andhowtorecorditinwritingorthroughotherperformances.

Studentslearntorecognizewhereandhowtheirthinkingandwritingcouldimprove,and

theybecomemoreandmorecompetentatselfevaluationastheypracticetheirskills,and

astheystudyothers'skills.

IfIstudyaparticulartennisplayerassiduouslyenough,Iwilldevelopasenseofher

style.Afterawhile,Imightnoticeherfootworkwhenshereceivesserve:perhapsher

gracefulnessstandsout,orperhapssheisaclumsyreturner.Imightnoticethatwhenshe

isdowninthesetshetendstohitmoreaggressiveshots,perhapsplayingclosertothe

lines,orshemighttightenupandplaymoreconservativelyuntilsheregainsanedge.

Shemighthaveahabitofusingextratimebetweenpointswhenheropponentoutplays

her,pushingtherulestotheirlimitstogetinheropponent'shead.Throughclose

watchingthroughstudyofherhabitsIcanlearntoseeaplayer'sstyleandtosense

whatmightbehernextmove.IcangethowsheperceivesthegameIfeelwhatshe

willdonext,akintohowIfeeltheresolutionofamelody.

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Theabilitytosenseanopponent'sstylewithoutthinking,wesometimescasuallysay

isoftenwhatgivesoneplayeranedgeoveranother.Atfirst,wemighthavetoremain

particularlyattentivetoouropponent'ssubtlemoves.Butasstudentsofthegame,we

canlearnsimplytoreact,muchlikethefixedgearbicycleriderunlearnshiscoasting

reflex.Andthisdoesnotdenythatwearethinkingwhileplaying;withoutthinking

doesnotmeanthoughtlesslyinanyordinarysense.Wearenotverballyorinternally

attentivetoparticularaspectsoftheopponent'sgame,butstillourplayingreflectsour

thinking.Beingproverbiallyinthezoneisnottoplaythoughtlessly:itistoattendto

one'splayinaparticular,silentway.

Similarlessonsapplytoreadingandtowriting.Thereaderwhoisinthezonewho

silentlyattendstoawriter'sstylestruggleslittleashegraspsthelessonsofatext.A

readerwhopracticesreadingaparticularwriter'sworkslearnstoreadthoseworksmore

effectively,muchasthetennisplayerwholearnsheropponent'sstyleisabletocompete

againsttheopponenteffectivelyandwithoutstruggle.

AreadermightpracticereadingWittgenstein'sworksbyreadingthematdifferent

paces.Consideringthathiscollectionsofremarkscoverawiderangeoftopics,one

mightgetaccustomedtoreadingthroughtheremarksforthepurposeofpickingup

textualthemes.Onemightalsolookforcharactersintheremarkstheubiquitous

interlocutorissomethingofamaincharacter,andthereaderneedstogetusedtohow

165
Wittgensteinemploysthatcharacterandforwhatpurposes.(Itiseasytoconfusewhat

theinterlocutorclaimswiththepointsthatWittgensteinmightendorse.)

OnemightalsoreadWittgenstein'stextsatanextremelyslowpaceinordertopickupon

thesubtletiesofhisstyle.Forexample,somespeedyreadersreadremarkswherehe

connectsmeaninganduseashisadvocatingatheoryofmeaning.Butaslower

reading,attentivetothecontextinwhichhemakessuchstatements,revealsthatuseis

nolesscomplicatedthanwhatwecallmeaning.Forexample,thereadermightdetect

thatgraspinginaninstant,closetowhatwecallgettinghere,isanimportantaspect

ofwhatwecallmeaning.Ifwedidnotgraspmeanings,uses,intentions,

purposesandthelikeinaflashifwehadtoinvestigatethemeverytimewetriedto

communicate,orifwethoughtofthemsolelyasphenomenathathappeninthehead

thenhumancommunicationwouldfalltopieces.

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13.InTheHead

Whereweinvestigateconcernsthatoftenarisewhenwetryto
characterizeintentions,orwhenwetalkaboutevaluation

Follows:4.Improvisation,Innovation&Intention,whereweconnected
worduseandmeaningtoimprovisation,developedavocabularytotalk
abouthowwerecognizeusefulandnoveltechniques,anddevelopedour
technicaluseofget.

Ifwethinkthataperformerhasanimageoftheperfectperformanceinherhead,thenwe

mightwonderhowtocharacterizeherintentions.Herintentionmightbetoexpressa

visualduplicateoftheimagesothatothersmightsharewhatsheseesinherhead,orto

makeaclearrecordingofamelodyorsong,ortomakeanaudiencelaughandsoon.

SaythatIhavethesoundofapianoperformanceinmyhead:IexpresswhatIhearinmy

headbyplayingthepiano.Imightsaythataparticularnoteoccurstome,andIknow

whichkeytostrikeinordertogetthepianotoproduceitsversionofthatnote.Asthe

tunerunsthroughmyhead,Iamabletostrikethekeysthatcorrespondtothenotes,

almostinrealtime.

Butwhatif,asIhearmyselfplay,IdeterminethatImadeamistake:Ihearintheworld

thatthenoteIstruckonthepianodidnotcorrespondtotheoneinmyhead.Imight

realizeinaflash,asitwere,thatIhitthewrongnote.Oritmightbethatthepianois

severelyoutoftune.Oritmightbethat,thoughthisinstrumentlookslikeapiano,it

167
makesdifferentsoundsthantheinstrumentweusuallycallapiano.Errorsraise

questions.

Itcouldbethatthisisalegitimatepiano,butthatIdidindeedhitthewrongnote:myskill

atselectingthecorrectkeytostrikeonthekeyboardtoproducethenotethat

correspondstotheoneinmyheadmightbedeficient.Perhaps,inthiscase,Ineed

morepractice.

ButthenitseemsthatonlyIcanjudgethepointsatwhichmyperformancemirrorsmy

image.Tothelistenerintheworld,Imightjustbeabadcomposer.Orthelistenermight

beintriguedthatIwouldhitabadnotejustthen:perhapsthisisastyleofcomposition

withwhichheisnotfamiliar.IfIsimplycontinuetoplay,actingasifIhadnoterredin

strikingthatkey,myactionmightreinforcealistener'snotionthatImeanttodowhatI

didthatIdidnoterr.(OrthatI'mapoorjudgeofmyownperformances.)Giventhat

onlyIcanknowwhatwasinmyhead,itseems,onlyIcanrecognizewhenIhave

committedanerror55.

55
Cf.Zettel,453:(Asonecansometimesreproducemusiconlyinone'sinwardear,andcannotwhistle
it,becausethewhistlingdrownsouttheinnervoice,sosometimesthevoiceofaphilosophicalthought
issosoftthatthenoiseofspokenwordsisenoughtodrownitandpreventitfrombeingheard,ifoneis
questionedandhastospeak.)
SeealsoPI,692,asreferencedinSection6above.

168
IfIamabletoexpressmypictureofthemelodypreciselyonthepiano,thenIapparently

donotstandinneedofpractice.Buthowisanevaluatorintheworldtoknowthatthe

tuneinmyheadwastheoneIplayed?Theevaluatorcouldaskmetowritethetune

downassheetmusic,andthenevaluatewhethermyperformancematcheswhatIhad

writtendown.ButhowissheetmusicabetterrepresentationofwhatIintendedtoplay

thanmyplayingintheworld?Imightbeanincompetentwriterofsheetmusic,which

mightdisqualifywhatIwritefrombeingastandardtowhichmyperformanceshould

conform.

Atissuehereishowsomeoneintheworldcanevaluatewhatisinmyhead.Againstwhat

standard,wemightask,canweevaluatewhatisinsomeone'shead(includingourown).

Toaddressthisissue,weshouldexercisecautionwhenusingtheintheheadmetaphor,

andinvestigatehowmelodies,words,ideas,andthelikegetintoourheadsinthefirst

place.Todothisis,partly,toinvestigatehowthemetaphorhelpsusinourexplanatory

activities.

WittgensteinaddressesrelevantaspectsofthissortofprobleminPhilosophical

Investigationswhenheconsiderscalculatingintheheadandknowingwhatacolorlooks

like:

169
 385. Askyourself:Woulditbeimaginableforsomeonetolearntodo
sumsinhisheadwithouteverdoingwrittenororalones?Learningit
willmean:beingmadeabletodoit.Onlythequestionarises,whatwill
countasacriterionforbeingabletodoit?Butisitalsopossiblefor
sometribetoknowonlyofcalculationinthehead,andofnootherkind?
Hereonehastoaskoneself:Whatwillthatbelike?Andsoonewill
havetodepictitasalimitingcase.Andthequestionwillthenarise
whetherwearestillwillingtousetheconceptof'calculatinginthehead'
hereorwhetherinsuchcircumstancesithaslostitspurpose56,because
thephenomenagravitatetowardsanotherparadigm.

386. Butwhyhaveyousolittleconfidenceinyourself?Ordinarilyyou
alwaysknowwellenoughwhatitisto'calculate.'Soifyousayyouhave
calculatedinimagination,thenyouwillhavedoneso.Ifyouhadnot
calculated,youwouldnothavesaidyouhad.Equally,ifyousaythatyou
seesomethingredinimagination,thenitwillbered.Youknowwhat'red'
iselsewhere.Andfurther:youdonotalwaysrelyontheagreementof
otherpeople;foryouoftenreportthatyouhaveseensomethingnoone
elsehas.ButIdohaveconfidenceinmyselfIsaywithout
hesitationthatIhavedonethissuminmyhead,haveimaginedthiscolour.
ThedifficultyisnotthatIdoubtwhetherIreallyimaginedanythingred.
Butitisthis:thatweshouldbeable,justlikethat,topointoutordescribe
thecolourwehaveimagined,thattheprojectionoftheimageintoreality
presentsnodifficultyatall.Aretheythensoalikethatonemightmix
themup?ButIcanask:Whatdoesacorrectimageofthiscolourlook
like?orWhatsortofthingisit?;canIlearnthis?
(Icannotaccepthistestimonybecauseitisnottestimony.Itonly
tellsmewhatheisinclinedtosay.)

387. Thedeepaspectofthismatterreadilyeludesus.

388. Idon'tseeanythingviolethere,butIcanshewityouifyougive
meapaintbox.Howcanoneknowthatonecanshewitif....,inother
words,thatonecanrecognizeitifoneseesit?
HowdoIknowfrommyimage,whatthecolourreallylookslike?

56
Compare345:...Ordersaresometimesnotobeyed.Butwhatwoulditbelikeifnoorderswereeverobeyed?Theconcept
'order'wouldhavelostitspurpose.

AlsoZettel,133:Likethis,e.g.,'Ifallmoveswerealwaysfalse,itwouldmakenosensetospeakofafalsemove.'Butthatis
onlyaparadoxicalwayofputtingit.Thenonparadoxicalwaywouldbe:'Thegeneraldescription...makesnosense'.

170
 HowdoIknowthatIshallbeabletodosomething?thatis,that
thestateIaminnowisthatofbeingabletodothatthing?

Intheseremarks,Wittgensteininventsadialoguethatshows,partly,whenfurther

questionsaboutwhathappensintheheadstopbeinghelpful.Dialogueisappropriate

giventhatWittgensteinoftenemphasizeshowweusewords,andsotoobservewordsand

phrasesinactionshowsushowcertainphilosophicalpuzzlesarisebypayingattentionto

ourpurposeswhichiseasiertoshowinadialoguethaninabstraction.Dialoguealso

showsuswhatitislikewhenphilosophicalquestionshavebeenadequatelyanswered.

Wemightfindourselvespuzzledoverwhathappensinourheadswhenwereflecton

activitieslikecalculating,matchingcolors,ormoregenerallythinking.Withthought

experiments,Wittgensteinencouragesustotryoutawiderangeofusesofinthehead.

Whenweimaginescenarioswherepeopleonlycalculateinthehead,wethenseehowthe

qualifyingmetaphorworksinourlanguage,whichistopointoutacontrastwithother

activitiesthatwealsocallcalculating57.

Furthermore,wecantryoutparaphrasesofthemetaphor,suchastoourselves,

silently,withoutwords,andsoforth,andwemightidentifythatallofthesework
57
Thereare,ofcourse,otherusesofcalculation,suchashowwedescribeakillerwhoiscoldand
calculating,oratennisplayerwhocalculateswhentoplaymoreaggressivelygivenheropponent's
style,oranactorwhotimeshisexpressionsjustrightinordertoelicitaparticularemotionalresponse
fromtheaudience.Tocalculateisalsotojudge,toplan,toevaluate,andsoon.Here,somewhat
artificially,wetrytolimitthecasetomathematicalcalculationsthatwedointheheadpartly
becausesuchcalculatingactivitieshaveobviousintheworldcounterparts.

171
similarlywhenwetalkaboutcalculation:weusetheminordertocontrastonesortof

calculationactivitywithanothersort.Werecognizethattangiblecalculationisamodel

ofsilentcalculation.Andifweonlyperformedsilentcalculations,thenqualificationof

thewordcalculationwithintheheadwouldthenbeunnecessary;wewouldnever

haveareasontosaythatwecalculatesilentlyorintheheadbecausetherewould

simplybecalculation58.

Weusemetaphorsandqualificationsbecausewelearnthatawiderangeofactivities

countascalculation.Welearnthewordcalculationbydoingandrespondingtoa

widerangeofactivitiesthatotherstellusiscalculating.

Tangibly,wecandosumsinavarietyofways:withmarbles,oronanabacus,orwitha

digitalcalculator,orbymakingsignificantmarksandsymbolsonpaper,orbyspeakinga

seriesoffamiliarstepsoutloud,orbycalculatinginthehead.Butthelasttwomethods

arenotpossiblewithouthavingfirstlearnedtodosums;thereisnocalculationinthe

headandthereisnorecitationoffamiliarstepspriortolearningwhatcountsas

calculatingintheworld.Again,Wittgensteinmakesthispointbysuggestingathought

experimentwhereweimaginethattherearenosuchthingsascalculationsintheworld.

Howthen,weshouldwonder,wouldanyonelearntocalculate?Howwouldweteachin

theheadonlycalculation?Moreover,howwouldthequalificationintheheadapplyto

58
Comparetypicallycontrastlesscases:chewwithyourmouthorit'srainingoutside.Wesimply
chew,anditsimplyrains.

172
calculation?Whatpurposewouldthequalificationserve?Weimaginehowthephrase

intheheadmightloseitspurpose.

Thedialoguegeneratesarhetoricaltasktodescribeanunimaginableactivity,andthis

showsussomethingaboutthenatureofboththedialogueandthetask.Itshowswhat

wouldbeinvolvedingivingsignificancetointheheadunderthedialogue'sconstraints.

Toaskwhatjobwould'inthehead'doifweonlyevercalculated'inthehead'?isto

takeintheheadinthewrongspirit;calculationdoesnotstartinthehead.

Giventhatwealllearncalculatingbylearningafamilyofrelatedcounting,discounting

andmultiplyingactivities,wecannotreallyimaginewhatitwouldbeliketolearn

calculatingwithouttheseworldlyexperiences.Parentsshowchildrenhowtocounttheir

fingersandtoes,andhow(inmostcases)thefivefingersonthishandandthefivefingers

onthathandmaketenfingersthattwofivesmaketen.Teachersshowuspilesof

blocksorballs;theycountoutloudhowmanyobjectsareinthepiles,theyremove

objects,countingastheygo,andrecountingthediminishedpile;theybuildstacksof

blocks,pilingandcountingthemoneatatime.

Later,wemightintroducestudentstosymbolicrepresentationsofthesephysical

activities,perhapsusingpaperandpencil,andweguidethemthroughtechniquesthat

theycanusetocalculateonpaper.Atthesametime,studentsusuallylearnsimilar

173
techniquesthatdonotrequirepencilandpaperyetachievethesameresults,andthese

techniques,takentogether,arecalculatinginthehead.Butstudentsaremadeableto

docalculationsintheirheadsbecausetheyknowwhatitisliketocountobjectsinthe

world,andbecausetheyknowhowthisactivitycanberepresentedsymbolically,and

becausetheyknowthattheycanproducethesameresultswithoutrelyingonanyphysical

orsymbolicrepresentations.Theyareabletodocalculationsinthisparticularway,and

wecallthisinthehead.

Inthesecases,intheheadcouldjustaseasilybesaidwithoutreferencetosymbolsor

withoutwritinganythingdownorwithoutcountingobjectsinapile,justaswe

earlierparaphrasedcalculationassilent,toourselves,orwithoutwords59.

Appropriateparaphrasesofintheheadserveourpurposes,andtolearnwhich

paraphrasesareappropriatetoourpurposesis,partly,tolearntocalculate.We

commonlylearnhowtouseawordlikecalculateinlearningtocalculate60.

59
Notethedangersofforcingavocabulary,suchaswhatoftenhappensinjustifiedtruebelieftalkin
philosophy(ofmind).Often,simpleparaphraseshelpusseethatsomeofour(alleged)philosophical
puzzlesresultmorefrominsistencethanfromdiscovery.Forexample,inaphilosophyofmind
seminar,discussionsaboutwhethermybicycleisstilllockedsafeandsoundataracknearbymight
involvemybeliefthatthebicycleisstillwhereIleftit.Imightprotestthatit'snotthatIbelievethat
thebicycleisthere;Ijustfigurethatitstillis.Tothisonemightinsistthatmyfiguringisacaseof
beliefandthatthepertinentquestioniswhetherIamjustifiedtoholdthatbelief.Butconsidera
varietyofreasonableparaphrases:I(believe/think/assume/figure/feel/hope/imagine/guess/
suppose)thatmybicycleisstilllockedtotherack.WhatIsuppose,guess,imagine,hope,feel,figure
orassumeisnotusuallysomethingthatIwouldevenconsiderjustifyingandthattellsussomething
abouttheallegedpuzzle.Thepuzzleaboutbelief,inthiscase,essentiallyvanishesasweseethat
belief,inanytechnicalsense,isnotreallyatissueletalonejustificationortruth.
60
Cf.OnCertainty:
45.Wegottoknowthenatureofcalculatingbylearningtocalculate.

174
Weidentifycolorssimilarly.Welearncolorsbyrote,throughobservation,andthrough

exposuretocolortalk.Theseprocessesdonotstainourmemoriesorfixcolorsamples

physicallyinourheads.TosayofacolorthatIseeitinmyheadistosaythatIwillbe

abletopickitouttoindicateitintheworldwithout,say,comparingtoasample.

Wedescribesomethingasinourheadswhenweknowthatwecanbehaveorreactor

speakorplayinacertain,agreeablewaywhenweencounterthatsomethingintheworld.

Wesaythatwehaveatuneinourheadwhenwecanimagineaperformanceofthetune

ourownorsomeoneelse's.Wepracticethetunesinourheadsonpiano,forexample,

inanefforttorecreateourpictureofaperformance.Butthepictureisnotamystical

objectthattakesupphysicalspaceinsideaperson'sbody.Often,Ihaveapictureof

_____roughlymeansIcandoorrecognize_____.Sometimesintheheadisjust

therightparaphraseofIcandothat.Thiscanhelpusbetterunderstandoneaspectofa

philosopher'stask:toexpresstheideasinhishead.

46.Butthencan'titbedescribedhowwesatisfyourselvesofthereliabilityofacalculation?Oyes!
Yetnoruleemergeswhenwedoso.Butthemostimportantthingis:Theruleisnotneeded.
Nothingislacking.Wecalculateaccordingtoarule,andthatisenough.
47.Thisishowonecalculates.Calculatingisthis.Whatwelearnatschool,forexample.Forgetthis
transcendentcertainty,whichisconnectedwithyourconceptofspirit.
48.However,outofahostofcalculationscertainonesmightbedesignatedasreliableonceandforall,
othersasnotyetfixed.Andnow,isthisalogicaldistinction?
49.Butremember:evenwhenthecalculationissomethingfixedforme,thisisonlyadecisionfora
practicalpurpose.

175
14.SelfEvaluation

Whereweshowthatourjudgmentsaboutourownskillsaremodeledon
judgmentsofothers'skills,whichwelearnintheworld.

Follows:3.Thinking,whereweshowedthatthinkingcanbe
construedbroadlyashandsonactivity,andsuggestedthatwetreat
philosophicalthinkingsimilarly.Throughout,wehaveemphasizedthat
ourpurposesdeeplyinfluencehowweunderstandandimproveuponour
thinkingskills.

AtthestartofhischaptertitledSelfKnowledgeinTheConceptOfMind,GilbertRyle

states:ThesortsofthingsthatIcanfindoutaboutmyselfarethesamesortsofthings

thatIcanfindoutaboutotherpeople,andthemethodsoffindingthemoutaremuchthe

same(Ryle,155).Hecontinueslater,inasectioncalledSelfKnowledgewithout

PrivilegedAccess:

Nowinalmostthesamewayasapersonmaybe,inthissense,
alivetowhatheisdoing,hemaybealivetowhatsomeoneelseisdoing.
Intheserialoperationoflisteningtoasentenceoralecturedeliveredby
someoneelse,thelistener,likethespeaker,doesnotaltogetherforget,yet
nordoeshehaveconstantlytorecalltheearlierpartsofthetalk,andheis
insomedegreepreparedforthepartsstilltocome,thoughhedoesnot
havetotellhimselfhowheexpectsthesentenceorlecturetogoon.
Certainlyhisframeofmindisconsiderablydifferentfromthatofthe
speaker,sincethespeakeris,sometimes,creativeorinventive,whilethe
listenerispassiveandreceptive;thelistenermaybefrequentlysurprised
tofindthespeakersayingsomething,whilethespeakerisonlyseldom
surprised;thelistenermayfindithardtokeeptrackofthecoursetakenby
thesentencesandarguments,whilethespeakercandothisquiteeasily.

176
 Whilethespeakerintendstosaycertainfairlyspecificthings,thehearer
cananticipateonlyroughlywhatsortsoftopicsaregoingtobediscussed.
Butthedifferencesaredifferencesofdegree,notofkind.The
superiorityofthespeaker'sknowledgeofwhatheisdoingoverthatofthe
listenerdoesnotindicatethathehasPrivilegedAccesstofactsofatype
inevitablyinaccessibletothelistener,butonlythatheisinaverygood
positiontoknowwhatthelistenerisofteninaverypoorpositiontoknow.
Theturnstakenbyaman'sconversationdonotstartleorperplexhiswife
asmuchastheyhadsurprisedandpuzzledhisfiancee,nordoclose
colleagueshavetoexplainthemselvestoeachotherasmuchastheyhave
toexplainthemselvestotheirnewpupils(Ryle,179)61.

Rylearguesthatweknowourownthoughtswegetintoourownheadsinthesame

sortsofwaysthatweevaluateothers'performances,deliveries,styles,andsoforth.We

donotevaluateourselvesusingadifferentsetofevaluativeskillsfromthosethatweuse

toevaluateothers.Selfknowledgeresemblesotherknowledgemorecloselythanwe

likelyrealize.

Selfknowledgeandotherknowledgedifferindegree.Weareextremelycloseto

ourselves;weusuallyunderstandourselveswithoutstruggle;whatwesay,think,ordo

rarelypuzzlesus.Thisdoesnotmeanthatourownactionsneverpuzzleus,butthat

othersactionspuzzleusfarmoreoftenthanourown.Rylearguesthatthisresultsfrom

proximity,toputitmetaphorically.

61
Cf.PI,31820onspeedofthought.Also,Zettel,90ff.,esp.92:
'Didyouthinkasyoureadthesentence?''Yes,IdidthinkasIreadit;everywordwasimportantto
me.'
Thatisnottheusualexperience.Oneisnotusuallyhalfastonishedtohearoneselfsaysomething;one
doesn'tfollowone'sowntalkwithattention;foroneordinarilytalksvoluntarily,notinvoluntarily.

177
Atangibleexampleillustrates:

Whenwewrite,weoftenoverlooksimplemistakes,especiallywhenwedonotseekto

discoverthetheerrorsinourwriting.Thoughthewritingisourownthoughwestand

metaphoricallyclosesttotheworkwefailtorecognizeeverythingaboutwhatwehave

produced.If,say,Ireviewmyworktoevaluatethecontent,thenIwillnotlikely

discoverasmanyspellingorgrammaticalerrorsaswhenIreadwiththataspectofthe

workinmind.Aneditor,whoseroleistofindthesesortsoferrors,willdiscoverthings

aboutmywritingthat,eventhoughIcreatedthetext,Iwillnotusuallydiscoveronmy

own.

Icandescribetheinsandoutsofmytextwhenquizzedaboutcertainaspectsofits

content.Butlikely,ifquizzedaboutwheretherearegrammaticalerrorsinthetext,Iwill

notbeabletoanswer;onewouldimaginethatifIknewaboutthegrammaticalerrors,I

wouldhavealreadyfixedthem.

Ifmyaimweretoproducegrammaticallycorrectprose,ifmaybeIwerewritingastyle

guide,thenIwouldattendtogrammaticalerrorsmoreclosely.Iwould,perhaps,beable

toidentifywhereIintroducedillustrativeerrorsonpurpose.PerhapsIintroducedan

errorinordertodemonstrateapointaboutreaders'attentiveness(thereisonesucherror

178
inthefirstparagraphofthisexample62).Inthiscase,Iknowaboutcertainerrorsinthe

textbecauseofmypurposesbecauseIhaveattendedtothetextinacertain,purposeful

way.

SothoughIaminsomesenseclosesttothetextIamusuallythepersonwhoismost

familiarwithmyownpurposesandmyownintentionsitdoesnotimmediatelyfollow

thatIamthebestjudgeofcertainaspectsofthetext.Infact,Iamsometimesinapoor

positiontojudgetheworkforexampleinfindinggrammaticalerrors,givenmy

contentorientedpurposes.Icanonlyattendtocertainaspectsofmyownthoughtsand

work,justasIcanonlyattendtocertainaspectsofothers'behaviorandexpression,and

alwaysonlyforcertainpurposesonanygivenoccasion.

Furthermore,whenothersreadandcommentonourwork,theyareabletopointout

aspectsofourideasthatwemightnothaveimmediatelyrecognized.Theyindicate

whereourexpressionsareunclear,orwheremoredevelopmentwouldhelpthereader.

Andaswedevelopfurther,werecognizenew,novelaspectsofourownworkthatwehad

notpreviouslyrecognized.Again,thisprocessdemonstratesthat,eventhoughwearein

somesenseclosesttoourownwork,wedonotwieldadistinctkindofauthorityoverthe

thoughtsandideasthattheworkcontains,oroveritspotentialapplications.

62
Thewordtheappearstwiceinarow.Wereaneditortoremovethaterror,thenthefootnoted
sentenceabovewouldbeanerror.Thisagainshowsusanimportantconnectionbetweenourpurposes
and,inthiscase,whatweconsidertobeamistake.

179
 *

Wittgensteinaddressessimilarconcernsinvariousplaces63.Forexample,fromTheBlue

Book:

Isupposeweimaginethecorrespondencetohavebeenverified
experimentally.Letusimaginesuchanexperimentcrudely.Itconsistsin
lookingatthebrainwhilethesubjectthinks.Andnowyoumaythinkthat
thereasonwhyexplanationisgoingtogowrongisthatofcoursethe
experimentergetsthethoughtsofthesubjectonlyindirectlybybeingtold
them,thesubjectexpressingtheminsomewayorother.ButIwill
removethisdifficultybyassumingthatthesubjectisatthesametimethe
experimenter,whoislookingathisownbrain,saybymeansofamirror.
(Thecrudityofthisdescriptioninnowayreducestheforceofthe
argument.)

ThenIaskyou,isthesubjectexperimenterobservingonethingortwo
things?(Don'tsaythatheisobservingonethingbothfrominsideand
fromtheoutside;forthisdoesnotremovethedifficulty.Wewilltalkof
insideandoutsidelater.)Thesubjectexperimenterisobservinga
correlationoftwophenomena.Oneofthemhe,perhaps,callsthethought.
Thismayconsistofatrainofimages,organicsensations,orontheother
handofatrainofthevariousvisual,tactualandmuscularexperiences
whichhehasinwritingorspeakingasentence.Theotherexperienceis
oneofseeinghisbrainwork.Boththesephenomenacouldcorrectlybe
calledexpressionsofthought;andthequestionwhereisthethought
itself?hadbetter,inordertopreventconfusion,berejectedas
nonsensical.Ifhoweverwedousetheexpressionthethoughttakesplace
inthehead,wehavegiventhisexpressionitsmeaningbydescribingthe
experiencewhichwouldjustifythehypothesisthatthethoughttakesplace

63
Cf.Zettel,100ff,esp.:
101.Ofcoursewecannotseparatehis'thinking'fromhisactivity.Forthethinkingisnotan
accompanimentofthework,anymorethanofthoughtfulspeech.

180
 inourheads,bydescribingtheexperiencewhichwewishtocall
observingthoughtinourbrain.

Weeasilyforgetthatthewordlocalityisusedinmanydifferentsenses
andthattherearemanydifferentkindsofstatementsaboutathingwhich
inaparticularcase,inaccordancewithgeneralusage,wemaycall
specificationsofthelocalityofthething.Thusithasbeensaidofvisual
spacethatitsplaceisinourhead;andIthinkonehasbeentemptedtosay
this,partly,byagrammaticalmisunderstanding.(78)

Giventhevocabularydevelopedheresofar,wecanrecognizewhatmakestalkingabout

selfevaluationsocomplicated:totalkaboutselfevaluationistotalkaboutthinking,

locality,theintheheadmetaphor,andsoon.Observingourownthoughtsand

activitiesresemblesobservingothers'thoughtsandactivitiesperhapsmorethanwe

realize.Forexample,IobservethatIthinknotmerelybyattendingtoasilentdialogue,

butIalsonoticemyphysicalbehavior.WhenIcrampupwhilewriting,Istopmoving

thepencil,Iraisemyhandtomyforehead,oftenIrubmyeyesormychin,Itakeadeep,

slowbreath,Ishiftinmychair,Ilookintothedistance,Ilookaroundtheroom,Istand

upandwanderacrosstheroom,andsoon.Thisisoneofthejobsthatthinkdoes.

Countlessvarietiesofthoughtorientedbehaviorshappenintheworldandthese

behaviorsarewhatweobserveandlearnaboutwhenwelearnthewordthinking.To

thinkisnotsimplytositstillandsilentlyspeakorconsideraninternaldialogue.If

internaldialoguewereallthatthinkingamountedto,thenwewouldloseourreasonto

careaboutwhethercatsordogsorrobotsdonotthinkwhiletheysitstilland...(do

181
whatevertheydo)...whichcouldverypossiblybetoattendtotheirowninternal

dialogue.

Ifthinkingwerejustsilentdialogue,thenthinkingwouldjustbehearingvoices.Wedo

not,forexample,tellachild:whenyouhearyourownvoiceinyourhead,thenyouare

thinkingandexpectthatthechildwillhavethefaintestideawhatthinkingis.WhenI

observeanotherpersondoingthingsthatIhavelearnedtoassociatewiththeword

thinking,Irecognizethatheisthinking,eventhoughIdonothavedirectaccessto

whatisinhisheadtohissilentdialogue.Similarly,Icanobservethatapersonis

thinkingwhileIspeaktohimonthetelephone:hepauses,hesighs,Ihearpapersshuffle,

Ihearachaircreak,etc.ThoughIdonothavedirect,physicalaccesstohisroom

thoughIcannotseehowhebehavesIstillgatherthatheisthinking.Iknowwhathe

isupto64.

Wittgensteindevelopsmoretangibleexamplesofhowwemeasureourselvesin

PhilosophicalInvestigations:

279.Imaginesomeonesaying:ButIknowhowtallIam!andlayinghis
handontopofhisheadtoproveit.

64
EspeciallyinPhilosophicalInvestigations,Wittgensteindevelopsseveralrelatedtopics,includinghow
weknowthatsomeoneisinpain,howweidentifyexpectation,howweknowthatsomeonemeans
whathesays,andsoforth.Itwouldbeinterestingtodevelopfurtherinvestigationsofeachofthese
topicsandassortedothersusingamethodliketheoneemployedhere,butatthispoint,those
developmentswouldbedistractions.Again,ourfocusisonthinkingandimprovingthinkingskills.

182
 280.Someonepaintsapictureinordertoshewhowheimaginesatheatre
scene.AndnowIsay:Thispicturehasadoublefunction:itinforms
others,aspicturesorwordsinformbutfortheonewhogivesthe
informationitisarepresentation(orpieceofinformation?)ofanother
kind:forhimitisthepictureofhisimage,asitcan'tbeforanyoneelse.
Tohimhisprivateimpressionofthepicturemeanswhathehasimagined,
inasenseinwhichthepicturecannotmeanthistoothers.Andwhat
righthaveItospeakinthissecondcaseofarepresentationorpieceof
informationifthesewordswererightlyusedinthefirstcase?

Welearnwhatitisliketointendwhenwewitnessothers'reactionstotheirown

behaviors.Thepianistwhostopsplayingwhenhehitsabadnotedidnotintendtohitthe

badnote,andsohestoppedplaying.Thetennisplayerwhohitstheballoutofbounds

gasps,grunts,behavesfrustratedlybecauseshedidnotintendtomakeanerror.Welearn

totalkaboutothers'behaviorsandreactionswithwordslikeintend,try,mean,

want,hope,expect,andsoon.Andsowelearntomeasureourownbehaviors,

reactions,andintentionsfromthoseofothers.Wedonotlearntomeasureourselves

fromtheinsideasitwere,andapplythosemeasurementselsewhereintheworld.Wedo

notplaceourhandontopofourheadtoshowhowtallweare,becauseheightisa

measurementthatwemakeagainstyardsticksbymakingcomparisionsinthe

world.Weintendandwethinkpublicly,andsoweevaluatethoughtsandintentions

ourownandothers'withthesamecriteriathatwelearnintheworld.

Relatedly,IoftendonotknowwhatIcandountilIpractice.Thesamegoesforour

evaluationsofothers'capabilities:wealwaysevaluateactionswhenweevaluateskills

183
ourownorothers'.IdonotknowwhetherIcanrideabicycletwentymilesinonehour

untilItry.IfItryandfail,thenthewayinwhichIfailsuggestswhatskillsIneedto

improveassumingthatIaimtoachievethisaveragespeedatsomepoint.Toevaluate

ourownskills,wemustexercisetheskill;toevaluateothers'skills,theymustexercise

thoseskills.Selfevaluationofaskillrequiresperformancejustasmuchasother

evaluation,insofarasskillsarelocatedinpersonsandobservableactivities.

Welearntoseerelevantaspectsofothers'performances,dependingonwhywewatchthe

performancedependingonourpurposes.Thetenniscoachwatchestheplayer'sfeet

whenshehitsaforehandifshetendstomisdirectshotsfromthatside.Thepianoteacher

noticesthestudent'spostureifhecomplainsaboutpaininhishandsorinhisback.

Writinginstructorscreateassignmentstoworkspecificskills,likethoseinvolvedin

composingpositionpapers,newsreports,businessplans,andsoforth,andtheynotice

howwelltheirstudentsadapttheirwritingstylestothosespecifictasks.

Weevaluateourownperformancesinthesamewaythatcoachesandinstructorsevaluate

others'performances:welearntoseeourselves.Welearnhowourperformanceshould

lookandfeelfromtheperspectiveofthepersondoingitfromourperspectivebut

welearnthesethingsfromhavingwatchedothers,fromhavingbeencoached,trained,

drilled,instructedovertime.

184
Withallthisemphasisonpurposes,itisworthpausingbrieflytohighlightsomeofthe

subtletiesofhoweasilywedistinguishbehaviorsthat,onthesurface,mightlookthe

same,thoughtheyarequitedifferentlymotivated.Practicingandrehearsingwillbeour

clearestcases.

185
15.Practice&Performance

Whereweinvestigateourcapacitytodifferentiatebetweenpracticingand
performing.

Follows:2.Practice,Performance&Motivation,wherewedescribed
differentkindsofpracticing,clarifiedthekindofpurposefulpracticethat
interestsushere,andstartedtosuggestconnectionsbetween
philosophicalpursuitsandthetangibleexamplesthatwedeveloped
throughoutthetext.

IpracticepianosothatatarecitalIwillperformaswellasIcan,orsothatinthestudioI

canperformapieceflawlesslyinjustafewtakes.Onewouldthink,though,thatinat

leastoneofthepracticesessionsIwouldhavealreadyperformedaswellasIcan,since

sucharesultshowsthatIampreparedforarecitalorforastudiosession.Asascheduled

performancedrawsnearandmyskillsatplayingthepieceimprove,mypracticesessions

approachcommandperformancelevel.Atsomepoint,becausemyskillshaveimproved,

certainaspectsofwhatIhavebeencallingpracticeandwhatIhavebeencalling

performancemergethesonicoutputsofeachactivitybecomeindistinguishable.

Butwecanusuallyeasilydistinguishapracticesessionfromapubliclyaccessible

performance.WhenIpracticethepiece,Idonotwearformalclothing,thereisno

audiencepresent,IsometimesstopwhenIerrandadjustmyfingerings,Imutterto

myselfabouthowIamdoing,andsoforth.Atapublicperformance,Iamformally

clothed,myfriendsandrelationsarepresent,theremightberecordingequipmentonsite,

186
Iworkthrougherrorsonthespot,andIremainsilentthroughoutsothatthejudgescan

hearthepianoasclearlyaspossibleorsothatamicrophonedoesnotpickupmyremarks

duringastudiosession.Thepurposeofpracticeistoimproveaspecificaspectofmy

performanceforexampletheactofpressingkeyscorrectlyonthepianoandIhope

thatIcanpressthekeysasskillfullyasinmybestpracticesessionsunderthepressureof

performanceconditions.

Relatedly,couplesmarryinaceremonywherethewordsIdo,spokenbythemarriage

candidates,followedbythewordsInowpronounceyou...,spokenbytheofficiant,

validatetheparticipants'intentionsandconferspublicrecognitionoftheircontract.

Rehearsalsoftenprecedethemarriageceremony.Inrehearsal,theparticipantspractice

themovementsthattheyaretoperformandtheorderinwhichpartsoftheeventshould

happen.Theofficiantrunsthroughanoutlineofwhatshewillsay,whatanyother

speakerswillsay,whatmusicwillbeperformed,andcruciallybecauseofinevitably

frazzlednervesanduncontrollableexcitementwhentosayIdo.Allofthe

participantsarepresent,allagreethatthepurposeoftheceremonyismarriage,thetwoto

bemarriedfullyintendtomarryoneanother,andsoon,yettorehearsetheceremonyis

nottoperformtheceremony.Nooneisactuallymarriedbyrehearsingamarriage.

Anobviousdeflationoftheexampleisofcourseit'sjustarehearsal.Butjust

hidestheinterestingdetailsoftherelationshipsbetweenpracticeandperformanceand

187
rehearsalandceremony.Inaway,wewanttomakesenseofwhatworkthewordjust

doesinthedeflation.Inanotherway,wewanttomakesenseofwhatitis:ifitisthe

rehearsal,thenthereasonableparaphrasetherehearsalisjustarehearsalseems

profoundlyunhelpful65.

Attherehearsal,werehearsetheceremonyexactlyaswewillperformitthefollowing

day,butwithoccasionalcommentaryanddirectionbytheofficiant.Butthiscannotbe

allthatdiffers.Whatif,duringtheactualceremony,wemistakenlystandinthewrong

placesandtheofficiantcorrectsus.Herdirection,inthiscase,doesnotreducetheactual

ceremonytorehearsal;theceremonystillcountsasamarriage.Ontheotherhand,if

duringoursecondrunthroughtherehearsal,wedonotneedanydirection,wehavenot

yetmarriedbecause,itseems,wedidnotintendforthisinstanceoftheceremonyto

betheonethatcounts.Yettomorrow,attheactualceremony,wewillbesincereandour

actionswillcountasaproperperformanceoftheceremonyandwillestablishthatweare

nowmarried.

Theactualceremonycouldgocatastrophicallywrongandthemarriagewouldstillbe

valid.Theflowergirlmighttriponherwaydowntheaisle,theringbearermightdrop

therings,thebestmanmightsneezeatthemomentthatIsayIdo,maskingmy

65
Althougheventhiscouldbehelpful.Forexample,ifIamoverwhelmedwithanxietyduringmy
weddingrehearsalsomuchsothatthepracticingseemstobedoingmenogoodtheofficiant
mighttrytorelaxmebysaying,Look,therehearsalisjustarehearsal.

188
pronouncementfromtheaudience,andsoon.Countlessminorinconveniencesorerrors

couldmakethisinstanceoftheceremonyseementirelyunlikeanypreviousone.Yetit

stillcountsasamarriage.

Doesitcountbecausewesimplyallagreethatthisistherealthing?Ifso,thenhowis

thisfactmadepublic?Dideveryoneassertoutloud,priortotheceremony,thatthis

countsasamarriage?Eveniftheydid,isthissufficientevidencethateveryonereally

agrees?Perhapstheyallhadtheirfingerscrossedanddidnotreallymeanit.Perhapsthe

wholeeventisanelaboratehoaxwheretheofficiant,aconartist,doesnothavethelegal

orreligiousauthoritytodeclareamarriagevalidsothougheveryonepresentthought

thatitwasamarriage,itwasnot,bylegalorreligiousstandards.

Inaway,rehearsalsaredraftsoftheceremony.Theyarepracticethataimstoputthe

participantsateaseandaimstomaketheceremonygosmoothlywhenitcounts,buthow

weperformtheeventwillnotchange.Aswegetbetteratpracticingtheceremony,we

sayofourpractice,thiscouldhavecounted,asopposedtowhenwearejuststartingto

learnandwethink,Iwillhavetoworkonthis.Wecancompareandcontrastcaseslike

pianorecitalsandmarriageceremoniestodoingphilosophy,wherephilosophical

performancecantaketheformofconversations,debates,teaching,writing,andsoon.

189
Insomecases,philosophersaimtoproducewhatwemightcallacommandperformance

apublic,spokenversionoftheirideas.Toteachphilosophyistotrytodeliver

philosophicalideastoanaudienceclearlyandeffectively,andthepracticethatgoesinto

thisislikepracticingpianoforarecitalorastudiosession.Astheteachingphilosopher

prepareshisnotesforalecture,hemightpacewhilestatinghiscasealoud.Hemight

makerefinementstohislecturebasedonhowthewordssoundintheear.Hemightpay

attentiontocadence,inflection,emphasis,andsoon,dependingonwhichideashewants

toemphasizeoraccentuateinhiscommandperformance.Hemightrecordversionsof

himselfgivingthelectureandlistenbacktotheminordertopickoutwhatworksand

whatdoesnotwork,andtorevisehisnotesaccordingly.Hemightevenincludestage

directioninhisnotes,basedonhowwellhisdeliveryworkedintherecordingsthathe

studied.

Sometimesaphilosopher'sfinalproductisawrittenwork.Awrittenproductwillnot

includestagedirection,forexample,anditmightnotbeobvioustoareaderwherethe

writingphilosophermeanstoemphasizeorinflectdifferentlythoughwritersand

publishersoftenusefontstylestosuggestsuchthings.Still,thewritingphilosopherwill

havepracticedforthefinalwrittenproductbyproducingversionafterversionofhis

ideas.Hemighthavetakendirectionfromanacademicsupervisororacolleagueorfrom

awidevarietyofreaderswhorepresenthisintendedaudience.

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Pianorecitalsandweddingsresemblesomephilosophers'finalproductsandcommand

performances.Butaphilosopherusuallyfeelsthatthereismoretosay,orthathemight

fabricateabetterexpressionofhisideas.Thedisciplinecontinues.Fromthis

perspective,liketennischampionswhocontinuetostudythegameandpracticetheir

shots,likecomedianswhocontinuetoworkonnewmaterialandimprovetheirdelivery

oftriedandtruejokes,andlikenewlyweds,whoperformtheceremonyonce,but

developtheircommitmenteveryday,philosophersconstantlytryoutnewideasand

refineargumentsbywritingpapers,byspeakingtocolleagues,bylecturingtostudents,

andsoon.

Thenovicepianoplayerplayspianowhenhehuntsandpecksacrossthekeyboard,when

hestrugglestolearntherelationshipsbetweenwrittenmusicandhowtooperatethe

piano,whenhestillsaysthenotesoutloudashetriestofollowthemusic,whenhe

countseverybeatinhisheadorattendsdiligentlytoametronome,whenhestudieschord

structureanddevelopshishands'habitsoffingeringchordseffortlessly,andsoforth.

Thefirstdaythatthestudenthammersoutnotesonthekeyboardwithateacher

present,orworkingthroughaselfguidedlessonbook,orwithnothingbuthiswitsabout

himheplayspiano.Itwouldbecleartoanyonewhowatcheshisactionsthathe

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intendstoplay.Wecancontrastthiswithachildwho,outofcuriosityaboutthedevice,

randomlypresseskeysandgigglesexcitedlywhensoundscomeout,orwithacatwho

skittishlywalksacrossthekeyboardasacacophonyofnotesfrightenhertothefloor,or

withanadultwhocasuallydragshisfingersacrossthekeysashewalkspast.Thenovice

pianoplayerhasalottolearn,butwecanimmediatelyrecognizehisdisciplined

practicingontheinstrument.

Thenovicetennisplayerplaystenniswhenshehitsseeminglyeveryballintothenet,

whenshefailstorecognizetheeffectofspin,whenshestandsflatfootedandfacingthe

net,woefullyunprepared,whiletheballpassesherby.Thefirstdayonthecourt,withan

instructor,withafriend,orbyherselfwithjustaracketandaball,thenoviceplayer

playstennis.Aswiththenovicepianist,werecognizethatthetennisplayerwantsto

hittheballinacertainway,werecognizethatshetriestoemulatewellestablished

movementsofprofessionals,werecognizeherintentionsthroughheractions,through

whatshesays,throughhermerepresenceonthecourt,wearingsneakers,holdinga

racket,bouncingaball,attemptingtoserveandsoon.Wecancontrastthiswithachild

whowandersaroundswingingaracket,withasalespersonatasportinggoodsstorewho

demonstrateshisswing,withthechairumpirewhoisclearlypartofthegamebutisnot

playing,andsoon.Theyalldotennisrelatedactivities,butweimmediatelyrecognize

thattheirsisnotthedisciplinedpracticethatwhatweseeinnoviceplayersaswellas

champions.Likethenovicepianist,thenovicetennisplayerhasalottolearn,butstill,

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sheplaystennisasshelearnstennis.Andweexpecthertolearncontinually,fromhitting

aroundwithothernovicestocompetingatthehighestlevelsoftournamentplay.

Inthecasesabove,toplayandtopracticecoincide.Forthetennischampion,playing

tennisismostlypracticingforbigmatchesandtournaments.Forthecomedian,playing

smallclubs,tellingjokesatparties,andimprovisingwithfriendsareallpracticingfor

biggervenuesorforhisfunniestperformanceyet.Pianistsmostlyworkoutfingerings,

sharpentheirdeliveryofstandards,anddeveloptheirimprovisationalskillsinpreparation

forpublicperformanceorstudiowork.Topracticetennisistoplaytennis.Toworkon

yourdeliveryistodocomedy.Toworkonscalesandfingeringstosharpenexisting

skillsistoplaypiano.Similarly,writing,lecturing,debatingarealldoingphilosophy.

Andrarelywhenwedophilosophydoweattemptacommandperformance.

Philosophers,likeprofessionaltennisplayers,pianists,cyclists,andcomedians,are

diligentpractitionersofacraftwhoseekcontinuedimprovementontheirprior

performances.

193
 (Thephilosopherisnotacitizenofanycommunityofideas.Thatiswhat
makeshimintoaphilosopher.)(Zettel,455)

Anythingyourreadercandoforhimselfleavetohim.(CultureAnd
Value,77)

Amaincauseofphilosophicaldiseaseaonesideddiet:onenourishes
one'sthinkingwithonlyonekindofexample.(Philosophical
Investigations,593)

16.Philosophy

Dnouement.

Follows:1.IntroductionToPhilosophy,whereweparalleled
philosophicalskillswithotherpracticedactivities,likemusicandsports,
suggestedsomevocabularythatwedevelopedhere,andindicatedhow
Wittgensteinsinvestigativemethodsinfluencedthistext.

Thisimmodestlytitledsectionreallyhasmodestaims.GivenallthatIhavejustsaid,the

readershouldgetthatIdonotintendtohaveafinalwordonwhatphilosophyis.JustasI

haveconstruedthinkingbroadly,Iwishtodothesamewithphilosophy.Wemightstart

bysayingthatphilosophyisaspecialkindofthinking.

Throughoutthiswork,Ihaveemphasizedpurposes.Wecalldebating,sprintingtothe

finish,orimprovisingonpianothinkingwhenitseemsrighttodoso.Wegetwhatone

meansbythewordstylewhenweapplythewordtomusic,orpainting,orwriting,or

comedicdelivery.Weunderstandthepointofpracticeasitappliestotennis,cycling,and

194
acting.Wegetthattheparticipantsintheweddingrehearsaldonotintendtoweduntil

theofficialwedding:weunderstandthepurposeoftheevent,likeweunderstandthe

differencesbetweenpracticingpianoandgivingarecital.

Inpartthen,mypurposehasbeentodevelopawaytosaywhatphilosophyiswhen

sayingsuchathingseemsusefulorhelpful,suchaswhenintroducingthetopicto

undergraduates,whendiscussingphilosophicalmatterswithfriendsandcolleagues,or

whenwefeeltheneedforhelpfulremindersaboutwhatphilosophersdoandhowwedo

it.66Justasthetennisplayerneedsasimplestartingpointtounderstandwhattheword

tenniscovers,weneedasimplestartingpointtounderstandwhatcountsasphilosophy.

Thephilosopher'scraftiscommunicatingideasthroughthinking,lecturing,conversing,

teaching,writing,andsoon.

Hopefullythereaderwillhaveappreciatedmyemphasis,throughoutthiswork,onactive

verbs.Philosophersdomanythings:theysystematize,theyanalyze,theywrite,they

debate,theythink,theyinvestigate,theyargue,andsoon.Andtheydothesethingsfor

specificpurposes.Thosepurposesdifferfromphilosophertophilosopher,obviously,and

bythispoint,mypurposesshouldbesufficientlyclear:todevelopsoundteaching

practices,todevelopaclearprosestyle,andtoworkouttechniquesandmethodsthatwill

66
Cf.PI,127:Theworkofthephilosopherconsistsinassemblingremindersforaparticularpurpose.

195
helpothersdothesame.Theapplicationofthemethoddevelopedhereiswiderthanthe

disciplinethatwecallphilosophy.

Thinkingandwritingarebothperformances.Theyresemblepianorecitalsandtennis

matchesandstandupcomedy,andsosimilarly,theyareactivitiesthatweneedto

practiceifweaimtoimproveourskills.Tothinkistodomorethantooperatewith

words,itismorethantoevaluatearguments,itismorethanreading,writing,lecturing,

andsoforth.Thepianistthinksbymovingherfingersacrossthekeys;thetennis

championthinksbydartingacrossthecourttotrackdownaball;thecomedianthinksby

gesturinghyperbolicallytoenthusehisaudience.Thephilosopherthinksbyobserving

behaviors,events,conversations,andobjects,byimprovisinghisthoughtsinwriting,by

communicatingtheminaclassroom,bydebatingwithotherphilosophers,andsoon.

Idonotmeantoinsistonavocabularybyusingtheverbtothinkinthisperhaps

strangeway.Pianistsplaypiano,tennisplayersplaytennis,comedianstelljokes.They

alsocompose,serve,anddeliver.Theyperform,slice,andact.Thepointisthatallthe

thingstheydoarepracticedandthoughtfulespeciallywhentheyaimforpeak

performance.Allofthispracticing,performing,anddevelopmentisamodelofhowa

philosopherparticularlyinsofarasheisawriterdevelopshisphilosophicalskills.

196
Andthoseskillsaretiedcloselytothinking.Thephilosopherengageswiththeworld

thoughtfully,andreportsonthatengagementinawidevarietyofways.Ashedoesso,

hedevelopsastyle.67

Developingaverbalstyleissomethinglikedevelopingamusicalstyle.Askilledlistener

canidentifyaperformerbyherdeliveryontheinstrument.Asignaturedelivery

developsinpracticeasthemusicianworksonscales,intervalexercises,fingering

techniquesandsoforth.Overtime,apianostudentwillinevitablydevelopwhatwe

mightcallquirks.MaybeshehitsaDthatfollowsaCslightlyharderthanaDthat

followsaBoranyothernote,andthismightmaketheintervalstandouttothelistener.

Ormaybetheplayerusuallyrushesringfingertomiddlefingercombinationsas

comparedtomiddlefingertoindexfingercombinations,andsochoiceoffingering

affectsthestylethatwehear.Takentogether,allofthesequirks,andotherspossibly

nevertobeidentified,constitutewhatwecallastyleofplaying.

Writers,likemusicians,developdistinctivestyleswhentheyregularlypolishand

challengetheirskills.Iftheydonotwriteregularly,theirthinkingwillinevitablysuffer

fromalackofclarityorprecision.Exceptincasesthatwemightcallgenius,a

67
ItisworthnotingatthispointthatatnearlytheveryendofPhilosophicalInvestigations(IIxi,p230),
Wittgensteinconnectsconceptsandstyle.Hesuggeststhatjustasconceptsarenotwhimsical,
neitherisstyle;stylearisesoutofpractices,whichariseoutofcontextorperhapsculturewhich
isthebackgroundagainstwhichwelearnconcepts.Butthisisonlyoneexplanatorypathonethat
suitsourcurrentpurposesquitewell.Thatis,thisisnotthewaythatconceptsandstylesarise;itisa
waythatmakessensegiventhetaskheretotalkaboutteaching,learning,andbuildingrelatedskills.

197
philosopherwhodoesnotpracticehisorhertechniquewillnotdevelopaclear,precise,

broadlyunderstandableandappealingphilosophicalstyle.

Perhapsonephilosopher'sclarityisanother'sobfuscation.Perhapsnotallphilosophers

aimforclarity.Perhapsstyleseemsirrelevantinacademic,philosophicalwork.ButI

contestthatclarity,style,appeal,andthelikeareindispensableaspectsofsuccessful

engagementinphilosophicalpursuits.Philosophicalthoughtcomesfromtheworldit

isapublicdiscipline.Whatisinourheadsgrewintheworld,anditisafundamental

responsibilityofthephilosophertodeliverthefruitsofhisthinkingbacktotheworldnot

onlyunbruised,butimproved,andwhollydigestible.

Pianostudentsdevelopskillsbyworkingonscales,byplayingsimplesongs,bydoing

fingerstrengtheningexercises,andarangeofotherdrills.Perhapsthepianostudent

developsapreferenceforpracticingcertainexercisesinacertainorder:basicfinger

warmups,followedbyscales,followedbychords,followedbyrunsthroughpartsof

largercompositions.Howthestudentbuildsskillscomesaboutaftermuch(literally)

bangingaroundonthepiano.Thestudentwillmakefalsestarts,hewillrejectsome

techniquesasineffective,sometechniqueswillcomeeasily,otherswillrequiremore

technicalpractice,andsoon.Ifapianistdidnotpracticethecraft,onlyplayingwhen

calledupontoperform,thoseperformancesmostlikelywouldbedreadful.Writingis

muchthesame.

198
Ifwegavepianostudentssomesheetmusic,asetofrulesfortranslatingthewrittennotes

tokeysonthekeyboard,andtoldthemtolearntoplaythecompositionthatwehadgiven

them,theymightbeabletolearnhowtoplaythatonepiece,buttheywouldbefarfrom

whatwewouldcallcompetentpianoplayers,andthiswouldshowveryquickly.They

wouldnotknowanyscales,theywouldlikelyhavenosenseofintervals,orofchord

structure,oranyofthesubtletiesofgoodtechnique.Pianostudentsbuildtheirplaying

skillsthroughdeliberatepracticing.

Similarly,ifweassignessaystophilosophystudentswithoutfirstbuildinguptheir

technicalabilities,theymightbecomeskilledassignedessayists,buttheywouldbefar

fromwhatwewouldcallskilledphilosophersorwriters.Theywouldnot,forexample,

learntopickoutreasonableessaytopicsfromtheebbandflowoftheirreadings,debates,

conversations,lectures,andsoon.Astudentofphilosophywhodoesnotengage

regularlyorthoughtfullywiththeworldwillsufferaparallelfailure;buildingaskillat

beingawriterinvolvesmorethanwritingdownideasandworkingondrafts.Buildinga

skillasaphilosopherinvolvesmorethanwritingseminarpapersandstudyinggreat

works.Werewetofailtoaddressskillbuildinginourteachingactivities,wewouldbe

selectingthosewhoalreadygetitratherthantrainingthosewhocould,buthavenotyet

developedphilosophicalthinkingskills.Wecanandshouldaimtoexpandphilosophy's

audience,partlybychallengingourownpedagogicpractices.

199
Successasawritingstudentdependsonexposuretogoodexpressioninadditionto

regularpractice.Iftheirgoalistolearntheartoftheessay,thenstudentsshouldstudy

goodessays,whichisdifferentfrommerelyreadinggoodessays.Studentsshouldlearn

toplaywithwords.Forexample,theycouldexercisetheirjoketellingabilitiesto

developasenseoftiming,whichwemightcalltheoralequivalenttoarrangement.

Similarly,learningdelivery,asonewoulddoinatheaterclass,helpstoemphasize

sensitivitytocontext.Anyoftheseexercises,andmanyoftheirancestors,willenhancea

student'srespectforwhatwordscando,andwhatitisliketousewordswellina

performance.Giventhatthephilosopheroperateswithseeminglyimpossiblycomplex

andabstractwordsandideas,suchpracticecanonlybenefithiswork.

Diverse,dailyexerciseiscrucialifnovicephilosophersexpectmorethandreadfulresults

wheninstructorscalluponthemtoperform.Diverse,dailyexercisesresemblepracticing

scalesordoingsprints:pianistsdonotplayscalesintheirpublicperformances;long

distancecyclistsrarelysprintonhundredmilerides;philosophersdonotnecessarily

directlyusewhattheypracticewhencalledupontowriteorotherwiseperformtheir

ideas.Philosophersdonottelljokesinprofessionalpapers,buttellingjokesbuilds

philosophicalskills,suchastiminganddelivery.PhilosophersdonotportrayHamlet

duringlectures,butactinghelpstobuildaphilosopher'ssympatheticportrayalofhis

material.Therangeofskillsthatstudentsbuildwhilepracticingacraftwillaffecttheir

200
publicperformances,regardlessofwhethertheproductsofthoseskillsappearonthe

surfaceoftheiractions.

Still,wehavenotdirectlysaidmuchaboutwhatphilosophersstudy.Certainly

introductorystudentswouldprofitfromhearingadescriptionofthetopicondayoneofa

philosophycourse.Instructorswillprofitfromhearingeachothers'descriptionsofthe

disciplinefromhearingotherphilosophers'selfevaluationsforthephilosopher's

owntakeonthetopicoriginatesinothers'takes.Professionaltennisplayerspractice

serves,pianistspracticelongknowncompositions,Olympiccyclistsstillworkontheir

cadenceandenduranceeveryday.Thesearefundamentalactivities,andrevisitingthe

fundamentalsrarelyresultsinwastedeffort.

Welearnphilosophythroughexamples.Philosophy,wemightsay,isaconcept,andjust

aswelearnandbuildconceptsbyexposuretosimplecases,weunderstandwhatcounts

asphilosophythroughexposuretowhatwecallphilosophicalworksandideas.This

textisanexample:itinvestigateswhatcountsasthinking,howweimproveourwriting

skills,howweidentifyintentionalactions,amongothertopics.

201
Welearntotalkaboutcomplexconceptsbylearningtoarrangesimpleideasand

observations,andtheshapeofthistextexemplifiesonesuchmethodofarrangement.We

endwherewebeganwithphilosophybutwithanewlyrefinedvocabulary68that

wecanusetobetterdescribeboththedisciplineandhowwegetbetteratit.Thesecond

sectionofthetext,Practice,Performance&Motivationintroducesthepenultimate

sectionofthetext,Practice&Performance;ThinkingsetsupSelfEvaluationand

soon.Thetextdeliberatelyintroduceditsvocabularyinoneorder,andthen

implementedthatvocabularyinanincreasinglymoretechnicalmannerinthereverse

order.Thoughinanunconventionalway,thewholetextarguesinfavorofusingthis

methodofarrangementasapedagogicandinvestigativetoolbydemonstratingahelpful

implementationofthetechnique69.Andtalkofhowweconstructargumentsis

philosophicaltalk.

Also,thetextemphasizeswhatIcallstatementandelaboration,asdescribed

throughoutthetext.Byusingthistechniqueaspartoftheinvestigationbyusingthe

techniquetodevelopadescriptionofthephilosophicalmethodofwhichitisapartwe

learnthewaysinwhich,andtheoccasionsuponwhichthetechniqueprovesuseful.

Specifically,itprovesusefulwhensomethingstandsinneedofelaboration,orwhenwe

68
Wecannowusethewordthinking,forexample,totalkaboutdeliberate,handsonactivities,as
opposedtojustsocalledmentalphenomena.
69
Furthermore,onecouldreadthesectionsofthistextinthereverseorderandstillaccomplishthesame
goals.

202
areunclearaboutanabstracttopic,orwhen,perhapsasinstructors,weneedtostaterules

ofthumborpracticalguidelinestostudents,oreventoourselves.

Thissuggeststhatwealsodevelopacompetenceatidentifyingwhenweneedtosaymore

toexplain,todescribe,tohelpthereaderorinterlocutoralong.Thisdependsonour

havingdevelopedacompetenceatreadingsituations,andthatwegetoneanotherfairly

clearly.Thetennisplayerwhodoesnotrecognizeclumsinessinherfootworkneeds

instruction,andstatementandelaborationmighthelp.Wemighttellher:Trytotake

justonefullstepwhenreturningaserve.Andwewouldgoontodescribehowto

achievethisbystartingintherightplace,withyourfeetpointedintherightdirection,by

readingtheserveandreactingappropriatelyandsoon.Shewillrecallthesedescriptions

shewillattendtoherplayinacertainwaywhenweremindheroftheonestep

guideline,untileventuallytheskillbecomespartofhernormalplay.Justaswedescribe

walkingasoneactivity,thoughwecoulddescribeitasmanyactivities,likemoving

yourarmsandlegstoproceedinanintentionallyforwarddirection,wedescribe

receivingserveasoneactivity,thoughitincludesstartingwithyourfeetinthisspot

whileattendingtotheserver'smotions,etc.

Similarly,whenwetalkaboutorteachaboutphilosophywemeanmanydeliberate

actionsandactivitiestowhichwemightattendforcertainpurposes,butmanyofwhich

wesimplymasterastechniques,anddothemalmosteffortlessly.Ourcoachingand

203
instructionskillsdependontheabilitytorecognizeortodistinguishaspectsofanactivity

thattheactorcouldimprove.Andourabilitytoisolateandtostateclearlyand

understandablywhataspectsofaperformancetheperformercouldimproveisour

teachingskill.

Thenovicewriterperhapsfailstouseappropriatelyactiveverbs,ortendstoover

complicatehissentenceswithtoomanysubordinateclauses,orhasapoorsenseof

paragraphing.Asinstructors,weidentifyandstatebasicrulesandguidelinesthathelp

thestudentattendtoaspectsofhisworkthathepreviouslyhadnotrecognizedand

isolated.Throughpractice,theneedforsuchattentionfadesandthewritersimplywrites.

Thephilosopher,insofarasheoperateswithwords,learnstopayattentiontoabstract

wordsandeventsandactivitiesinaspecialway;helearnstowriteabouttheattention

thathehaspaid;helearnstolectureaboutit,todebateaboutit,todevelopnewideasby

shiftinghisattentionandsoforth.Eventually,thephilosopherwillpayattention,write,

learn,andlecturenaturallyinaphilosophicalwayaboutphilosophicaltopics.Ourtask,

then,asinstructorsofphilosophyistoguidethestudent'sattention.Butfirstwehaveto

attractthestudent'sattention.

Thebrandnewphilosophystudentwillnotlikelygettheconcernsofanadvanced

philosopherondayoneofIntroductiontoPhilosophy.Advancedphilosopherswhostudy

differentsubdisciplinesoftendonotgeteachothers'concernseither.Giventhis,any

204
philosopherprofitsfromcontinuallyworkingtorefinehisabilitytostatesimply,ina

widevarietyofways,whathedoes,howhedoesitandwhyhedoesit,andtobeprepared

toelaborateonthosestatementsinwaysthataresensitivetohisaudience.The

philosopher'sabilitytodothisishiseffectivenessasaninstructorandasanadaptable

practitionerofthediscipline.

Thephilosophermustbeastudentofhistimes.Whileintroducingthetopic,hemustbe

abletomarshaltheverbalandthinkingskillsthatstudentsalreadyhave.Forexample,

studentsafewgenerationsagoencounteredmorewrittenideasthanvisualideas,as

comparedtotoday'sstudentsgiventhepervasivenessoftelevision,movies,

advertising,theInternet,andsoforth.Theskilledinstructor,then,willrecognizethisfact

anduseittohisadvantagewhileintroducinganddevelopingphilosophywithhis

students.Theskilledinstructormightrecognizethatcontemporarystudentsthinkin

chunksmorethantheythinkinstructures,andsotheskilledinstructorwilladapthis

methodstoreflectthisobservation.Themethoddevelopedhereissensitivetosucha

shift:contemporarystudents,insofarastheygetsoundbytes,respondwelltoamethod

ofstatementandelaboration;statementisasoundbyte,andelaborationisthe

processofcomingtounderstandthesignificanceofthatstatement.Studentsdevelop

theirskillsthroughlearninghowtoarrangeparaphrasesstatementsandhowto

elaborateonthoseparaphrasessensitively,andhowtoarrangestatementsand

205
elaborationsintocoherentworks.Wittgenstein'shypertextesquestructureisamodelof

howtodophilosophyinthismanner.

Again,thisisanexampleofwhatwestudyinphilosophy:westudyhowwethinkand

howwecanimproveourthinkingskills.Westudythestructuresofarguments.We

studyverbalperformancemethods.Werefineourowncommunicationtechniquessothat

webetterexpresstheresultsofourownthinking.Philosophycomprisesnumerousother

topicsnotexplicitlyaddressedhere:rightandwrongactions,freedom,justice,aesthetics,

intentions,judgment,andsoon.Weshouldrecognizesimilaritiesbetweenthesethemes,

andweshouldrecognizehowwemightapplythemethoddevelopedhereto

investigationsofthesetopics,justasweappliedittothinking,practice,gettingit,andso

forth.

Putsimply,philosopherstalkandwriteabouthowtheydowhattheydoandwhytheydo

whattheydo.Inthecurrenttext,ItalkabouthowIwriteandthink.Iarrangetangible

examplesanddescriptionsofordinaryactivitiesinanefforttoshowhowcomplex,

abstracttopicsarise;thinking,evaluation,andintentionareamongthemaintopicswe

havetreatedhere.Ihavedonethiswiththeaimofappealingtoageneralaudience

withoutsacrificingrigor.Iassertthatwecanclearlydescribehowwethinkandhowwe

canimproveourthinkingskills.UltimatelyIhopethattheinvestigationherewillbenefit

206
bothanintroductoryandaprofessionalaudienceapossiblyimpossible,butworthy

task.

Thestudentofphilosophy,aswellastheprofessionalpracticingphilosopher,thinksand

writesdaily,hedevelopsastyle,andhedevelopstechniques,methods,andhabitsthat

enhancehiswrittenandspokenperformances.Hemeasureshissuccessbywhetheran

audiencegetshisideasandarguments,bywhethertheysympathizewithhis

philosophicalconcerns,andbyhowtheycontributetoconversationsanddebates.He

thinksashemeasuresthissuccess,hesharpenshisconversationalskillsandhiswriting

skills,healtershisintentionsandhisdeliverytosuithisaudience,andheisabletodoso

because,throughhisregularpractice,hehasdevelopedacommandofhisdiscipline.He

mastershiscraft,yetcontinuestodevelopthatmasterybyengagingthoughtfullywiththe

world.

207
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