Lectures and Conversations on Aesthetics, Psychology and Religious Belief

by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Cyril Barrett (editor)

In 1938 Wittgenstein delivered a short course of lectures on aesthetics to a small group of students at Cambridge. The present volume has been compiled from notes taken down at the time by three of the students: Rush Rhees, Yorick Smythies & James Taylor. They've been supplemented by notes of conversations on Freud (to whom reference was made in the course on esthetics) between him & Rush Rhees & by notes of some lectures on religious belief. As very little is known of his views on these subjects from his published works, these notes should be of considerable interest to students of contemporary philosophy. Further, their fresh & informal style should recommend him to those who find his "Tractatus" & "Philosophical Investigations" a little formidable.
Preface
Lectures on aesthetics
Conversations on Freud
Lectures on religious belief

Genres: Philosophy, Psychology, Nonfiction, Religion, Art, Language, Theology

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (Ph.D., Trinity College, Cambridge University, 1929) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language.

Described by Bertrand Russell as "the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived, passionate, profound, intense, and dominating", he helped inspire two of the twentieth century's principal philosophical movements: the Vienna Circle and Oxford ordinary language philosophy. According to an end of the century poll, professional philosophers in Canada and the U.S. rank both his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations among the top five most important books in twentieth-century philosophy, the latter standing out as "...the one crossover masterpiece in twentieth-century philosophy, appealing across diverse specializations and philosophical orientations". Wittgenstein's influence has been felt in nearly every field of the humanities and social sciences, yet there are widely diverging interpretations of his thought.

Reviews

[soulAdmitted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libere dissociazioni

(Grazie comunque, Sigmund, è stato bello.
Il fatto che W. - che palesa grande ammirazione per la poetica freudiana - dica che Freud “fa qualcosa di immensamente errato”, con il suo determinismo mitologico, è rassicurante e varrebbe in sé la lettura di questa raccolta di appunti con annessa trascrizione di una conferenza).

Liberi oscuramenti, libere domande sul linguaggio che circolano con dignità propria. Spesso con troppe risposte per averne una, spesso non installabili prima delle risposte: piuttosto e coraggiosamente, dopo. (Ti chiedo perché : per quale motivo ma anche in quanto tu hai risposto).
Qui si gioca a sentire e ad assumere un’estetica indescrivibile, un’etica incodificabile, una psicologia non interpretabile, credenze religiose non riconducibili.
Le regole del gioco cambiano più o meno a ogni giro. Chi ha difficoltà a tenere gli occhi aperti nel buio oppure, indifferentemente, a farsi bendare, dovrà cercare altrove.

Le altre e gli altri, se mai ne avessero voglia, potrebbero iniziare da qui (valutando eventualmente anche il facile e triste utilizzo ideologico dell'attitudine descritta):

L’attrattiva di certi tipi di spiegazione è irresistibile. In un dato momento, l’attrattiva di un certo genere di spiegazione è più forte di quanto puoi immaginare. In particolare, la spiegazione del tipo “Questo, in realtà, è solo questo”

e magari fermarsi e pagare felicemente pegno qui:

Ho ridotto in pezzi la prova di Ursell, ma, dopo che lo ebbi fatto, Ursell disse che la prova aveva per lui un certo fascino. Qui avrei solo potuto dire ”Non per me, io la detesto”

finire poi in gloria con Lucy van WittgPelt:

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who writes, in other words, tries to put the images that are in my mind as words on a page - I, of course, have a profound respect for the writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Not the easiest philosopher to follow or understand, but personally speaking, he's the most rewarding with respect to my writing. The beauty of his thought is not the end of the process, but the journey itself. I often think that Wittgenstein is struggling to make himself understandable to his readers and students.

"Lectures & Conversations" is an absorbing book. It's ironic that it's a book about communicating what you think, but here, it is being filtered and written down as notes by his students in Cambridge in the 1930s. The primary focus of this small book is aesthetics. In how one sees something and how they describe that experience. In this part of the book alone, there are two students' notes of the lecture, which is interesting because you're getting the same information (we think), but the fact that it is two separate people, how they process that information. So overall the book is about what Wittgenstein is stating, bu then how that information or his thoughts are being dealt with in a lecture format.

The other subject matters in this book are psychology and religious belief. Wittgenstein reading Freud is a mind-bending experience. The landscape is so huge, and Wittgenstein I feel works best in a smaller context. For instance, what is on the table, and what does that mean to you? He didn't comment on that, but I'm just using that as an example, compared to the meaning of dreams.

Since I have been reading off and on, Wittgenstein, for the past five years or so, I can see his presence in my work. I don't fully grasp everything he writes or lectures about, but I get the 'drift.' In his nature, he writes like a poet, who thinks logically. I'm a fan of Wittgenstein.

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wittgenstein vs scientism. He sees culture - art, dreams, religion - as ‘form of life’, not truth claims. When we look at it, we offer interpretations, not reductionist explanations. I think that’s simplistic since cultural objects and practices often embody truth claims. Do religious believers think it belittles their faith if we say it doesn’t claim to be true?

[Dalmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like any of Wittgenstein's pieces, this is an immensely challenging work, and it rewards re-reading. He switches registers fairly often: not only are there no discreet subject-area markers or "obvious takeaways," but the tone and voice he pitches the discussions in shift, too. That these are student notes (notwithstanding the quality of the student: Rush Rhees, for one, was among his best) makes it harder to track whether he is "endorsing" or critiquing an idea, thought, or "view" being submitted for consideration. Compared with some of his other work, the flow from one thought to another isn't always tight, or clear. Because of this, it takes a closer reading to tell where an argument is going, what an example is meant to better illustrate, or what the takeaway is supposed to be. That said, Wittgenstein is not a philosopher who wastes his words. So what gives? Some have suggested that he takes the approach he does in his writing (and lecturing) in order to push us to do the difficult work of finding out what is at stake in any given discussion; exactly where (and why) philosophical muddles arise, let's say, and what it means to work through philosophical "problems" the hard way. In the end this may not be the best Wittgenstein to start with - and it's certainly not a work for the casual reader - but it's still a rewarding read for those curious about his views on religious belief, aesthetics, and psychology, and willing to put in the time.

[Alexandru Stanciu · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Există aici o legătură cu diferența dintre cauză și motiv. La tribunal ești întrebat care a fost motivul acțiunii tale și se presupune că îl cunoști. Dacă nu cumva minți, se presupune că ești în stare să spui care a fost motivul actelor tale. Nu se presupune însă că ai cunoaște legile care guvernează corpul și mintea ta. De ce se presupune că tu cunoști motivul? Pentru că ai avea multă experiență privitoare la tine însuți? Oamenii spun uneori: Nimeni nu poate vedea înlăuntrul tău, dar tu poți - ca și cum, fiind așa aproape de tine însuți, fiind chiar tu însuți, îți cunoști propriul mecanism. Dar oare așa este?”

[Federico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raccolta eterogenea di testi (per la maggior parte appunti degli studenti di Wittgenstein) che trattano gli ambiti più marginali (secondo alcunx) della filosofia di Wittgenstein. La conferenza sull'etica ricalca le tematiche del Wittgenstein del Tractatus, mentre le altre lezioni appartengono al Wittgenstein dei giochi linguistici. Ottima raccolta.

[Kaplumbağa Felsefecisi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wittgenstein'ın üniversitede verdiği derslerde not tutan öğrencilerinin kaleminden anlatımlar. Biraz karışık ve yetersizdi. Wittgenstein okunarak harmanlanabilir.

[Marc Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Video review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m7_K...

[Zo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a mixed bag, but has moments and sections filled with Wittgenstein's typical brilliance. I think his anti-scientism goes too far at points here, but there are other parts where his cautionary remarks look prescient in hindsight. The best parts are interspersed throughout the section on aesthetics and the beginning of the part on religious belief. He has a way of putting words to things that are hard to characterize (and his discussion of the ineffable as it pertains to aesthetics is a great example). There are a number of points where I am unsure how exactly to read him, and whether he is more arguing for a position on grounds of "reason" or "morals" (air quotes because making it seem like a simple dichotomy is against the spirit of the work). Similarly, I am unsure how far his quietism is going at parts here, and am tempted to think he is wrong in how severe he is, but am worried I am misunderstanding. The observations on how aesthetic judgment is more a matter of correctness modifiers than superlative application is great.

[Wolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diese Mitschriften von Wittgenstein Vorlesungen sind eine kleine Goldgrube für das Philosophen Herz, obwohl sie, dass sollte kurz erwähnt sein nicht verifiziert sind.
Die Vorlesungen die hier mitgeschrieben wurden fanden in den Jahren 1938, 1942 und 1946 statt.
Wir haben es hier, also mit einem Wittgenstein zu tun der den Logicus schon geschrieben hat und sich mehr oder weniger an den arbeiten der Philosophischen Untersuchungen befindet und das merkt man. Hier kann man eine Übergangsphase beobachten.
In den Vorlesungen über Ästhetik differenziert Wittgenstein Handwerkskunst von anderer Kunst.
Also so fragen wie: Wie bewerten wir ein Anzug der von einem schneider kommt ?
Wie ein Bild von Michelangelo?
In den Gesprächen über Psychoanalyse setzt sich Wittgenstein mit der Traumdeutung Freuds auseinander.
In den Vorlesung zu Religion, wird versucht auseinander zu dividieren was „meinen“ heißt und was „glauben“.
Letztendlich ein schöner Band um tiefer in Wittgensteins denken einzutauchen und das lohnt unglaublich.

[Bombita · Rating 3 out of 5]

fragments of ideas. theories are really fun but it's hard to take a deeper thinking into these arguments, and eventually i didnt understand either Wittgenstein nor his students sorry...

[Seyed · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stimulating but difficult collection of notes that consider the language of aesthetics, Freud's psychoanalysis and what people mean when they express various constituents of religious belief (e.g. God, the after-life etc). Raises more questions than answers and is not altogether coherent but worth persevering slowly and thoughtfully.

[Yifei Zhang · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the time of the lectures sit comfortably in the late period, and engage many later topics such as rule following and language games, it seems many of the ideas are consistent from the Tractatus. A great demonstration of the consistency of W’s case against scientism and reducing aesthetics to epiphenomenal.

[Kevin K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this mostly for the remarks on Freud. They were interesting but limited in scope. The material on aesthetics and religious belief followed Wittgenstein’s usual method of exploring examples and word meanings, but didn’t uncover any new insights. Very dry/boring compared to an interesting thinker on aesthetics like Basho, Burke, or Poe.

[Mick Maurer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lecture on Aesthetics, being a retired prof of Developmental Psychology reminded me of the writings of Noam Chomsky. Wittgenstein railed against psychologists studying aesthetics, while he as an undergrad at Cambridge studied rhythm in music.
His Conversations on Freud he displayed contempt. While his Lectures on Religious Belief were religiobabble, similar to psychobabble.

[Zach Irvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty does aesthetics and religion. Stretching language to the limits to try and find the inner workings of our thoughts about these things. How we use the words we associate with art and belief. How they differ from other uses of those same words.

He also goes hard against Freud, which was funny and unexpected having just finished Anti-Oedipus.

[Dallas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. I don't know: something in the way that this was compiled and edited feels very off. Interesting to read more of Wittgenstein's thoughts! But the transcription robs Wittgenstein of probably 80 percent of his logical clarity, and 1oo percent of his economy of language. No fault of the students, I'm sure, but reads in a very uncanny way, especially after revisiting the Tractatus

[Jakub Labun · Rating 4 out of 5]

While sometimes difficult to follow - it’s a collection of lecture notes, after all - this book takes its reader into the halls of 1938 Cambridge and the minds of three philosophy students, who might or might not yet be aware that their teacher should become one of 20th century most prominent thinkers. The raw format adds to the charm.

[Zeynep Zaim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wittgenstein'ın öğrencilerinin derleme notlarından oluşturulmuş. İLYA çevirisi tam bir zaman kaybı. W'nin Freud'la bazı sorunları varmış anlaşılan.

[Rodrigo Domínguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful little book. I wish it had been written/edited by Wittgenstein himself

[Elías Villanueva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es de lo mejor que he leído.

[Dyfan Dyfans Dyfanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy how some of this could have been written in Swansea

[G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unos pocos alumnos, tres o cuatro, conversan con Ludwig Wittgenstein en su habitación de Cambridge. Tertulias que funcionan como clases de filosofía. Wittgenstein se pregunta y se contesta. Los alumnos toman nota, sobre todo Rush Rhees. Parecen Vladímir, Estragón y Godot, todos en un mismo páramo filosófico. LW dice cosas que no se pueden creer. Parece un alienígena que recién aterriza en alguna metrópolis y trata de entender lo que pasa. También parece un místico que quiere compartir sus visiones. Hay algo que se le impone, una especie de fatal rol de oráculo. Quiere que otros vean, o por lo menos que dejen de estar tan confundidos. Me recordó a las puertas de la percepción de Huxley. Creo que de eso se trata el pensamiento de LW, el primero, el segundo, o el único. Se trata de una purificación, de una ascesis redentora. La perplejidad es total, no tiene escape. Una maravilla. De estética no se puede hablar con sentido, es unsinnig. Pura magia tenebrosa. El psicoanálisis hace mal, igual que la filosofía. Freud parece tener algo que decir, pero aplicar sus métodos hace daño, salvo que una conciencia hipercrítica vigile todo el proceso. Hablar de religión, otro Unsinn, un disparate. Temas que están del otro lado de lo humano. Ética, psicoanálisis, religión, mejor no hablar de ciertas cosas. A los discursos sobre semejantes problemas no les alcanza ni para sinsentido, como ocurre con las tautologías o las contradicciones lógicas. No son ni discursos sinnlos, son directamente Unsinn, puro disparate. O alguna especie de juego convencional en el mejor de los casos. Solo quedan los teoremas y una fe voluntarista en algunas ciencias naturales que nunca dejan de ser triviales. El resto es ruido, ilusionismo. Una fascinante confusión. LW es la lucidez del condenado. Un goliardo ascético.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Addition:

I totally forgot to write about two of the things I liked about this book. First of all, all of these books of lectures/student notes are evidence of the amazing dedication, loyalty, and respect Wittgenstein's students had for him. Are there any other examples of this in the modern world? Certainly Socrates is the archetypal teacher who lives on in the writings of his students.

The other thing that struck me was how many of David Foster Wallace's Wittgensteinisms come from this book. It's pretty clear he was channeling this book in 'The Broom of the System'. Wittgenstein talks about "click". Etcetera.



Original review:

Most of Wittgenstein's ideas survive in collections of notes his students took during lectures and conversations. This is such a collection.

It is mesmerizing to read Wittgenstein working through questions. Even when his conclusions are now outdated or wrong (in light of modern brain science, for example), his methods are incredible. The discussion of Freud is great.

The weakest part of this collection are the short conversations at the end about religious belief, but when reading through them I remembered the 'girl who thought Jesus was a statue' sermon in the novel 'Q' by Luther Blissett. The sermon is delivered by an old anabaptist contra Catholicism, and I think it is a very Wittgensteinian sermon.

[Jakša · Rating 4 out of 5]

Od svih Vitgenštajnovih knjiga ova mi je za sada najomiljenija, iz prostog razloga što sam je najbolje razumeo. Njegov stil pisanja je veoma specifičan i nije mi uvek jasno zašto on piše o nekim problemima a pogotovo zašto na takav način, naročito kad se radi o nekim oblastima kao što su fregeovska logika ili osnove matematike. Zanimljivo je da je on verovao kako svaki tekst treba da bude čitan tako da se poštuju određena pravila ritma, kao da je u pitanju muzička kompozicija. Za svoja dela je smatrao da ih treba čitati veoma sporo, što ima smisla. Sličnu ideju je usvojio i Tomas Bernhard koji je Vitgenštajna smatrao 'apsolutnim vrhuncem filozofije i duhovne povijesti' i koji je napisao roman 'Vitgenštajnov nećak'.

Još jedan razlog iz kojeg mi je ova knjiga bila razumljivija je izbor tema; estetika, psihoanaliza i religija su mi u svakom slučaju bliže od matematike ili logike. U takvom kontekstu njegov koncept jezičkih igara je mnogo lakše razumeti.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey, he's talking, he's not writing. The book is short but dense and disorganized, all lecture notes taken by his students. His mom gets painted by Gustav Klimt. And he goes about the book all like, "Defining beauty is like saying which coffee tastes best."

Well, some folks have a favorite coffee Wittgenstein. But I'm not one of them.

Convention is what is. Innovation is born from convention. If you're insane and create art, you have too much innovation, and patrons and critics will not absorb your work. But innovate around the 5 - 10 percent mark and fill the rest of your work with convention and you will dominate.

All right, got the ratios? Now go art please.

Recommend some Gombrich if you need something more firm. E.H. Gombrich

[-uht! · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I don't know how to comment on this book. I know that I did not enjoy it and came away from it without having learned or experienced much. This may say more about me as a reader than about the book itself, but I could not escape the feeling that I'd walked into a movie 15 minutes too late and never picked up the core of the story. The entire book, to me, felt like people were talking about an argument without ever saying what the argument was. I am far too lazy a reader to try and glean the argument from clues; I'll save that for my poetry reading. I'm sure this was a bad first Wittgenstein book, since he did not actually write it. Oh well... perhaps I'll pick up another one he actually authored and something from this book will make sense.

Anyway...

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Aristotle, much of what we "know" about Wittgenstein is based upon the notes of his students as the philosopher himself published little. Either some individuals have, in making an industry out of such notes and Wittgenstein's own ejecta, been cleverly promoting their own careers and coffers or, in fact, he made an indelible impression on many of his colleagues and students--perhaps both.

This book, like many of the other productions of this industry, is little more than a pamphlet between covers, of more interest to biographers, perhaps, than philosophers.

[Sam Eccleston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is interesting if you enjoy reading disconnected, contextless short reflections about the nature of religion. Its main appeal lies in the insight one hopes to gain into the position of Wittgenstein on religious belief, but it is insufficiently detailed or lengthy to provide a particularly memorable contribution to a nuanced picture of what religion is about. Many of the utterances recorded in this work are difficult to confidently decipher without greater contextual information.

[Chant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insights from Wittgenstein on aesthetics, Freud, and religious belief, but in all honesty it wasn't as great as P.I, TP, or OC. I would stick to his main publications, only really interested readers/students should read this.