Some readers of this blog may wonder why I quote Ludwig Wittgenstein so often. This essay explains why. Although no thinker exists totally outside of his environment, Ludwig Wittgenstein came close. Originally schooled in engineering, he entered philosophy by way of formal logic and the foundations of mathematics. His work is based to a great extent on introspection and rigorous analysis, and his analysis of language set the intellectual climate for much of the twentieth century and resonates today. He is generally considered to be the most influential philosopher of the 20th century – pretty good for a guy few people have heard of!
Since language is a series of learned and shared abbreviations and metaphors for communicating, if you constantly change the language, people lose the ability to communicate. Then, as with the Tower of Babel, people can no longer work together.
The logical necessity of mysticism
Since language is a series of learned and shared abbreviations and metaphors for communicating, if you constantly change the language, people lose the ability to communicate. Then, as with the Tower of Babel, people can no longer work together.