Saturday, January 6, 2024

Philosophical Fidgetings

The reference is, of course, to Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations. As a lifelong student I was musing the other day that if I had the opportunity to spend some time on a university campus what I would like to do most of all is attend a graduate seminar on Wittgenstein. But then I realized that you don't have to do that any more--you just have to go to YouTube. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of clips on Wittgenstein including audiobooks of the Tractatus, explanations and introductions to Wittgenstein, taped university lectures, clips on individual topics and so on. In other words, for free (or at most the cost of ordering a couple of books from Amazon) you can give yourself as thorough a course in Wittgenstein as you wish. The only thing you won't have is a credential. The ramification of this is that pretty much the only thing that universities offer these days for their exorbitant fees are credentials, frills like gyms and lounges, and cafeteria food.

Just for fun, here is a very new clip by a commentator rather different from most:



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