"No statement of fact can ever be, or imply, a judgment of absolute value. Suppose one of you were an omniscient person and therefore knew all the movements of all the bodies in the world dead or alive and that you also knew all the states of mind of all human beings that ever lived, and suppose you wrote all you knew in a big book, then this book would contain the whole description of the world; and what I want to say is, that this book would contain nothing that we would call an ethical judgment or anything that would logically imply such a judgment."[3][4]
Comparison to Wittgenstein's later positionsedit
Just four years later, in 1933, in another lecture on ethics at Cambridge University, Wittgenstein seems to have taken up a very different view. Instead of saying that ethical propositions would not be part of a complete account (or a complete physical account, at least) of the world, Wittgenstein said in the 1933 lecture that an ethical quality like good should be discoverable like any other quality, and that a full investigation of some action would reveal whether it had this quality or not.[5]
^Stern, David, "Wittgenstein’s Lectures on Ethics, Cambridge 1933", Wittgenstein-Studien, vol. 4, no. 1 (2013), pp. 203–5.
^Schulte, Joachim, Wittgenstein: An Introduction (SUNY Press, 1992), p. 71.
^Lecture on Ethics (1997) Ludwig Wittgenstein - Printed in Darwall, Gibbard, and Railton, “Moral Discourse and Practice: Some Philosophical Approaches, New York: Oxford University Press, pg. 67
^Page 73 of 'Wittgenstein on Mind and Language' by David G Stern, published in 1995 by Oxford University Press, ISBN0-19-508000-9
Klemke, E. D. (1975). "Wittgenstein's lecture on Ethics". The Journal of Value Inquiry. 9 (2): 118–127. doi:10.1007/bf00135803. S2CID 143503719.
Wolcher, L. E. (1998). "A meditation on Wittgenstein's Lecture on ethics". Law and Critique. 9 (1): 3–35. doi:10.1007/bf02699906. S2CID 148018785.
February 10, 2024
book, thought, experiment, book, thought, experiment, developed, ludwig, wittgenstein, about, nature, ethics, verifiability, ethical, knowledge, this, account, given, early, work, 1929, lecture, ethics, matches, also, position, given, early, tractatus, logico,. The Big Book is a thought experiment developed by Ludwig Wittgenstein about the nature of ethics and the verifiability of ethical knowledge This account is given by him in an early work the 1929 Lecture on Ethics and it matches also his position given in the early Tractatus Logico Philosophicus Proposition 6 41 1 2 Contents 1 The experiment 2 Comparison to Wittgenstein s later positions 3 See also 4 References 5 Further readingThe experiment edit No statement of fact can ever be or imply a judgment of absolute value Suppose one of you were an omniscient person and therefore knew all the movements of all the bodies in the world dead or alive and that you also knew all the states of mind of all human beings that ever lived and suppose you wrote all you knew in a big book then this book would contain the whole description of the world and what I want to say is that this book would contain nothing that we would call an ethical judgment or anything that would logically imply such a judgment 3 4 Comparison to Wittgenstein s later positions editJust four years later in 1933 in another lecture on ethics at Cambridge University Wittgenstein seems to have taken up a very different view Instead of saying that ethical propositions would not be part of a complete account or a complete physical account at least of the world Wittgenstein said in the 1933 lecture that an ethical quality like good should be discoverable like any other quality and that a full investigation of some action would reveal whether it had this quality or not 5 See also editIs ought problemReferences edit Stern David Wittgenstein s Lectures on Ethics Cambridge 1933 Wittgenstein Studien vol 4 no 1 2013 pp 203 5 Schulte Joachim Wittgenstein An Introduction SUNY Press 1992 p 71 Lecture on Ethics 1997 Ludwig Wittgenstein Printed in Darwall Gibbard and Railton Moral Discourse and Practice Some Philosophical Approaches New York Oxford University Press pg 67 Page 73 of Wittgenstein on Mind and Language by David G Stern published in 1995 by Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 508000 9 Stern op cit p 203 Further reading editKlemke E D 1975 Wittgenstein s lecture on Ethics The Journal of Value Inquiry 9 2 118 127 doi 10 1007 bf00135803 S2CID 143503719 Wolcher L E 1998 A meditation on Wittgenstein s Lecture on ethics Law and Critique 9 1 3 35 doi 10 1007 bf02699906 S2CID 148018785 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Big Book thought experiment amp oldid 1193140320, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
