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Ludwig Wittgenstein's Internalized Heterosexism

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DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.22403.63529

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 Ludwig Wittgenstein's Internalized Heterosexism
Wolfgang Nedobity

1 Introduction
The philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) as well as his biography have rendered an
enormous amount of secondary literature. The bibliography by Shanker1 lists 5868 works as
secondary sources, while a query of the Philosopher's Index done by Santoro et al. in 2015 resulted
in 4209 publications with 'Wittgenstein' in title2. According to Google Scholar3, only two works
include also the term 'homosexuality' in the title: the papers by Bartley4 and by Peters5. Bartley's
essay is a revised version of the 'Afterword 1982' in his book on Wittgenstein6, which caused a lot
of controversy among Wittgensteinians, but paved the way to the philosopher's inclusion in
reference works such as the 'Who's who in Gay and Lesbian History'7 and Hergemöller's directory
of German speaking queers8.
Bartley based his evidence upon confidential reports from some undisclosed friends, the
interpretation of two of Wittgenstein's dreams and letters describing his postwar depression. Present
day psychological research and its updated terminology, however, allow a more sophisticated
account of Wittgenstein's sexual attitude and identity. Most notably, Szymanski's and Mikorski's
work, defining internalized heterosexism, which causes psychological distress to most queer
individuals, as a state of mind in which “LGB persons seek to avoid attractions and romantic
feelings to individuals of the same-sex, are uncomfortable about their sexual desires toward
members of the same-sex, and reject their sexual orientation.”9

2 Early role models and sources of inspiration

Wittgenstein shared this state of mind with his Viennese contemporary Otto Weininger (1880-1903),
the author of the bestselling work 'Sex and Character'10. Several authors, such as Hänsel11 and Lee12,
confirm that Wittgenstein had a great admiration for this book. Drury goes into greater detail and
relates the following episode: “On another occasion he asked me to read out loud to him a passage
in Weininger's book where he quotes from the Renaissance scholar Pico della Mirandola...When I
had finished reading this to him Wittgenstein exclaimed 'That is so fine that I would wish to read
more of Pico'.”13 There is a translation of the Latin quotation into English which Drury included in a
draft of his 'Conversations with Wittgenstein' containing the following view of man's nature: “If he
1 Shanker, V.A. & S.G. (Eds.) (1986). Ludwig Wittgenstein. Critical Assessments. London & Sydney: Croom Helm,
vol.5.
2 Santoro, M., Airoldi, M. & Riviera, E. (2019). Reading Wittgenstein Between the Texts. Journal of Interdisciplinary
History of Ideas 8(16), p. 6:12.
3 Retrieved on 2021-01-12.
4 Bartley, W. (1982). Wittgenstein And Homosexuality. Salmagundi, (58/59), pp.166-196.
5 Peters, M.A. (2019) Wittgenstein and the ethics of suicide. Homosexuality and Jewish self-hatred in fin de siècle
Vienna. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 51(10), pp.981-990.
6 Bartley III, W.W. (1983). Wittgenstein, ein Leben. München: Matthes & Seitz, pp.170-212.
7 Wentick, A.M. (2002). Wittgenstein, Ludwig. In Aldrich, R. & Wotherspoon, G. (Eds.). Who's who in Gay and
Lesbian History. From Antiquity to World War II. 2nd ed. London & New York: Routledge, pp.492-493.
8 Hergemöller, B.-U. (1998). Mann für Mann. Biographisches Lexikon zur Geschichte von Freundesliebe und
mannmännlicher Sexualität im deutschen Sprachraum. Hamburg: MännerschwarmSkript, pp.744-745.
9 Szymanski, D.M. & Mikorski, R. (2006). External and Internalized Heterosexism, Meaning in Life, and
Psychological Distress. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 3(3), p.268.
10 Weininger, O. (1906). Sex & Character. Authorized translation from the sixth German edition. London: Heinemann
& New York: Putnam.
11 Hänsel, L. (2012). Begegnungen mit Wittgenstein. Ludwig Hänsels Tagebücher 1918/1919 und 1921/1922, ed.by
Somavilla, I. Innsbruck & Wien: Haymon, p.47, p.55.
12 Lee, D. (1999). Wittgenstein 1929-1931. In Flowers, F.A. (ed.) Portraits of Wittgenstein. Bristol: Thoemmes Press,
vol.2, pp.195-196.
13 Drury, M. O'C. (1984). Some Notes on Conversations with Wittgenstein. In Rhees, R. (Ed.) Recollections of
Wittgenstein. 2nd rev.ed. Oxford: OUP, pp. 91-92.

1
chooses to delight in sensuality, then he can become as one of the animal creation. If he chooses the
way of understanding, then he can escape from his brutish nature and be turned towards heavenly
things.”14 'Sensuality' was a keyword that Wittgenstein used not only in his secret diary, but when he
referred to one of the well-known queer authors, namely August von Platen-Hallermund (1796-
1835), to whom Wittgenstein imputes that he had suppressed his inverted sensuality.15 The
suppression of sensuality appears to be a lifelong endeavour of Wittgenstein due to religious
motives. These were provided by the works of Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) and St. Augustine (354-
430).
In his 'Gospel in Brief'16 “Tolstoy attributes five commandments to Jesus. Not all of these are stated
as such in the Bible, and not all of them are implicit in the original text. Tolstoy's commandments
are: i. Do not be angry, but be at peace with all men.
ii. Do not seek delight in sexual gratification...”17
Wittgenstein bought the German version of this work in a small bookshop in Tarnow (Galicia) and
carried it with him all the time during the years of World War I.18 Thus the Wittgenstein Papers are
full of references to Tolstoy as well as to St. Augustine's Confessions19. Augustine's heterosexism
resembles largely that of Weininger: “A thoroughgoing misogynist, Augustine was particularly
disgusted by men who allowed their bodies to be used 'as that of a woman', since, as he wrote in
Contra mendacium, 'the body of a man is superior to that of a woman as the soul is to the body'.”20
Wittgenstein was intrigued by Augustine's ascetic strain and his mastery of the will in escaping
carnal bondage.21
On the basis of his religious readings he made self-transformation his central purpose in life.
A further influence that needs to be mentioned in this respect was that of the theories of Sigmund
Freud (1856-1939), the investigator of the pleasure principle. Wittgenstein's opinion on it reads like
this: “Now when, as in the case of Freud, a generalization is seized upon, and now investigation
continues, qualifications are introduced...And so with hedonism. Pleasures are not all of the same
kind. There are higher and lower...We desire nothing but pleasure, but there are qualities of
pleasure.”22 This is probably the reason why Wittgenstein considered psychoanalysis as presented
by Freud as irreligious.23 While sensuality had a rather negative connotation in the Bible, Freud saw
it as a positive form of psychical energy and termed it 'libido'.Wittgenstein was rather 'sensual' in
the years of 1914 and 1915, as one can find 18 entries of the term 'sinnlich' in his secret diaries of
the period.24 They were mainly used to record incidents of masturbation.
14 Biesenbach, H. (2014). Anspielungen und Zitate im Werk Ludwig Wittgensteins. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski
University Press, p.706.
15 Hänsel, L. (2012). Begegnungen mit Wittgenstein. Ludwig Hänsels Tagebücher 1918/1919 und 1921/1922, ed.by
Somavilla, I. Innsbruck & Wien: Haymon, p.47.
16 Tolstoy, L. (1896). The Gospel in Brief. New York: T. Y. Crowell.
17 Schardt, B. & Large, D. (2001). Wittgenstein, Tolstoy and the The Gospel in Brief. The Philosopher 89 (1).
Retrieved from: http://ww.the-philosopher.co.uk/2001/04/wittgenstein-tolstoy-and-the-gospel-in.html
18 Wittgenstein, L. (1914). Geheime Tagebücher 1914-1917. In Interactive Dynamic Presentation (IDP) of Ludwig
Wittgenstein's philosophical Nachlass [http://wittgensteinonline.no/]. Edited by the Wittgenstein Archives at the
University of Bergen under the direction of Alois Pichler. Bergen: Wittgenstein Archives at the University of
Bergen, Ms-101,37v.
19 Augustinus, A. (1912). St. Augustine's Confessions. Transl. by William Watts. London & New York: Heinemann.
20 Russel, P. (1995). The Gay 100. New York: Kensington Books, p.67.
21 Wittgenstein, L. (1934). Pocket Notebook. In Interactive Dynamic Presentation (IDP) of Ludwig Wittgenstein's
philosophical Nachlass [http://wittgensteinonline.no/]. Edited by the Wittgenstein Archives at the University of
Bergen under the direction of Alois Pichler. Bergen: Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen, Ms-
157a,13r.
22 Bouwsma, O.K. (1986). Wittgenstein: Conversations 1949-1951. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, pp.59-60.
23 Drury, M. O'C. (1984). Conversations with Wittgenstein. In Rhees, R. (Ed.) Recollections of Wittgenstein. 2 nd
rev.ed. Oxford: OUP, p.137.
24 Wittgenstein, L. (1914-1915). Geheime Tagebücher 1914-1917. In Interactive Dynamic Presentation (IDP) of
Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophical Nachlass [http://wittgensteinonline.no/]. Edited by the Wittgenstein Archives at
the University of Bergen under the direction of Alois Pichler. Bergen: Wittgenstein Archives at the University of

2
Further confessions of his onanism can be found in his notebook volumes XV and XVI covering the
period between 23 October and 2 December 1937. They are all followed by expressions of shame,
sadness, moral weakness and the fear of harmful effects.25 Marjorie Perloff explains these entries
with Wittgenstein's Norwegian solitude and his longing for Francis Skinner: “The most remarkable
of his journal commentaries – commentaries we will no doubt be attempting to explicate for years
to come – date from September to December 1937, when Wittgenstein was spending solitary time at
his cottage at Skjolden, Norway...During part of the time, his young protégé and lover Francis
Skinner, with whom he had gone to Russia, was with him in Norway.”26 Besides Francis Skinner he
had intimate friendships with David Pinsent and Ben Richards.
In the homosocial atmosphere of a Cambridge College, Wittgenstein began to understand his non-
normative sex drive, but gained also an awareness of the cultural context of extreme stigma that is
associated with it. He expresses his comprehension by means of an understatement found in a letter
addressed to Rush Rhees: “The other day I read a book 'The trials of Oscar Wilde'. They are very
interesting, but not at all nice.”27

3 The impact of faith and the meaning in life

Szymanski et al. point out that individuals experiencing high levels of religious conflict when
coming out predicted higher current levels of internalized heterosexism (IH): “In general, the results
indicate that there is a relationship between IH and religious orientation. Specifically, the results
suggest that adherence to orthodox or traditional (presumably heterosexist) religious beliefs is
associated with greater IH and that membership in LGB-supportive faith organizations and
independent religious decision making are associated with less IH.”28 Membership in a LBG-
supportive congregation was hardly feasible during Wittgenstein's life time. As a matter of fact,
Wittgenstein – notwithstanding his Jewish ancestry – was baptized and educated as a Roman
Catholic. This church is known for denying full human rights to the LGBTI* population until the
present day.
According to Kenny, faith is even more useful than philosophy to Wittgenstein in his search for
meaning in life: “Philosophy, he thought, could not give any meaning to life; the best it could
provide would be a form of wisdom. But compared with the burning passion of faith, wisdom is
only cold grey ash.”29 Hosseini is convinced “that the massive literature on Wittgenstein's
philosophy of religion shows that these so-called grammatical investigations are not entirely
grammatical and that more often than not a conception of life's meaning emerges in these types of
investigations.”30
Szymanski and Mikorski claim that persons who are searching for meaning in life and attempting to
make sense of their existence are more prone to internalized heterosexism and thus to negative
psychosocial and mental health outcomes.31 According to Meyer, such outcomes comprise sexual

Bergen, Ms-101, Ms-102.

25 Wittgenstein, L. (1937). Notebooks. In Interactive Dynamic Presentation (IDP) of Ludwig Wittgenstein's
philosophical Nachlass [http://wittgensteinonline.no/]. Edited by the Wittgenstein Archives at the University of
Bergen under the direction of Alois Pichler. Bergen: Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen, Ms-119,79r,
Ms-119,128r, Ms-120,4v, Ms-120,26v, Ms-120,27r.
26 Perloff, M. (2016). Edge of Irony. Modernism in the Shadow of the Habsburg Empire. Chicago & London: The
University of Chicago Press, p.158, p.191 note 17.
27 Letter dated 7 May 1950. Retrieved from: http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/AC13811972. See also: Schmidt, A. (1999).
Wittgenstein an Rush Rhees. Neue Wittgenstein-Briefe in der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek. Biblos 48(1),
p.139.
28 Szymanski, D. M., Kashubeck-West, S., & Meyer, J. (2008). Internalized heterosexism: Measurement, psychosocial
correlates, and research directions. The Counseling Psychologist, 36(4), p.561.
29 Kenny, A. (2012). A New History of Western Philosophy. Oxford: Clarendon Press, p.995.
30 Hosseini, R. (2019). Wittgenstein and the genteel tradition. South African Journal of Philosophy 38(3), p.287.
31 Szymanski, D.M. & Mikorski, R. (2006). External and Internalized Heterosexism, Meaning in Life, and
Psychological Distress. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 3(3), pp.265-274.

3
 orientation concealment, self-stigmatization and emotional reticence.32 This emotional reticence was
aggravated by the fact that Wittgenstein also suffered from the Asperger syndrome: “He had a
severe impairment in reciprocal social interaction, a lack of appreciation of social cues and
emotionally inappropriate behavior. Other suggested features were repetitive adherence, the
imposing of routines, speech and language problems and non-verbal communication problems
(limited facial and inappropriate expressions and a peculiar stiff gaze).”33 The Asperger syndrome,
which is a form of autism, leads to an inability of demonstrating empathy. Furthermore, intense
preoccupation with a particular subject, one-sided verbosity about one's favourite interests,
difficulties with the formation of friendships and the inaptness of understanding others' gestures or
feelings, as well as a physical clumsiness are typical of the impairment.34 The multiplicative effects
of his several oppressions on psychosocial health could also be the reason why Wittgenstein's sex
life appears to have been similar to what Kertbeny – the inventor of the term 'homosexual' –
describes as 'monosexual'35. This concept was later on expanded by the psychologist Gustav Jaeger
in his chapter on “Monosexuale Idiosynkrasie”.36 The term has been translated into English as
'autosexual' by Bernard Apfelbaum in 1989.37
Thus a lifelong partnership had certainly no priority in his ethics of existence. The production of
some great philosophical work in order to fulfill a God-given mission would give at least some
meaning to his life. If there were no purpose at all to life, it would be unethical to carry on living.
Afflicted by self-doubt, “Wittgenstein entertained thoughts of suicide from his early teenage years
throughout his life.”38 Fortunately, he had more stamina and resilience than three of his brothers, as
he died of a fatal disease. His famous last words confirm a tragic, but settled personality: “Tell them
I've had a wonderful life.”39

32 Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual
issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129, pp.674–697.
33 Teive, H.A.G, Silva, G.G.& Munhoz, R.P. (2011). Wittgenstein, Medicine and Neuropsychiatry. Arq Neuropsiquiatr
69(4), p.716.
34 Baskin, J.H., Sperber, M. & Price, B.H. (2006). Asperger syndrome revisited. Reviews in Neurological Diseases.
3(1),pp.1–7.
35 Kertbeny, K.M. (2000). Schriften zur Homosexualitätsforschung, ed. by Herzer, M. Berlin: Rosa Winkel, p.118.
36 Jaeger, G. (1880). Die Entdeckung der Seele. 2nd ed. Leipzig: Ernst Günther, pp.255-263.
37 Apfelbaum, B. (1989). Retarded ejaculation: a much-misunderstood syndrome. In S. R. Leiblum, S.R. & Rosen,
R.C. (Eds.). Principles and Practice of Sex Therapy (2nd ed). New York: Guilford Press, pp.168-206.
38 Peters, M.A. (2019) Wittgenstein and the ethics of suicide. Homosexuality and Jewish self-hatred in fin de siècle
Vienna. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 51(10), p.981.
39 Perloff, M. (2016). Edge of Irony. Modernism in the Shadow of the Habsburg Empire. Chicago & London: The
University of Chicago Press, p.169.

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