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Good Morning
Jan. 23rd, 2019 09:00 am
Jan. 23rd, 2019
Today In Faversham
Jan. 23rd, 2019 06:59 pmToday was one of relaxing and listening to my recent finds. I also had to finish a report from the other day. I have a proclivity to letting reports slide if I do not keep on top of them.
I popped out into town for a while and had some lunch at Spoons. It was breast chicken slices marinated with sticky soya sauce, chips and coleslaw.
I have noted that poetry book sales have been on the increase and this was confirmed with a news article on Radio 4 this morning. I guess in uncertain times people reach for poetry as their comfort zone. I have just sold a couple of poetry books online on eBay. So, whilst I was in town I picked up a few more cheap ones for reselling.
I bought them at the Fleurs Book shop.
I also noticed that we have a combined hat and independent book store in town where I picked up my ticket to see Viv Albertine at the Literary festival here in town next month.
I popped out into town for a while and had some lunch at Spoons. It was breast chicken slices marinated with sticky soya sauce, chips and coleslaw.
I have noted that poetry book sales have been on the increase and this was confirmed with a news article on Radio 4 this morning. I guess in uncertain times people reach for poetry as their comfort zone. I have just sold a couple of poetry books online on eBay. So, whilst I was in town I picked up a few more cheap ones for reselling.
I bought them at the Fleurs Book shop.
I also noticed that we have a combined hat and independent book store in town where I picked up my ticket to see Viv Albertine at the Literary festival here in town next month.
Just Wondering
Jan. 23rd, 2019 10:21 pmWho in your life do you wish you’d met sooner?
Do you always want the answer to ‘what are you thinking about?’
How are things going for you, now?
Do you always want the answer to ‘what are you thinking about?’
How are things going for you, now?
John Eidinow and David Edmonds "Wittgenstein's Poker" (Faber & Faber)
Edmonds and Eidinow provide a fascinating window into a very brief, yet meaningful exchange between several of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century- Ludwig Wittgenstein, Karl Popper, and Bertrand Russell.
Wittgenstein and many of the philosophy faculty, graduate students and other scholars would gather weekly in a classroom on the campus of King's College in England for great philosophical discussions and stimulating debates.
On this particular occasion, at one of their meetings on a day in late October of 1946, Karl Popper was in the area giving a lecture and was invited to attend the meeting of the moral philosophy club. Wittgenstein's brief argument with Popper, which took place at that small classroom at King's College in the presence of Bertrand Russell and a handful of graduate philosophy students has become the stuff of legend.
Wittgenstein and Popper reportedly debated back and forth about their differing perspectives on the deep philosophical and linguistic argument at hand- including by some accounts Wittgenstein accentuating his point with a poker from the fireplace. Following this brief exchange, Wittgenstein reportedly made his point, threw down the poker and left the room. Reports differ as to who won the argument, but it has become part of both of their enduring philosophical legacies.
This thoughtful book sets the scene for this interesting exchange. The authors also provide a fascinating background into the early life and upbringing of both Wittgenstein and Popper- Wittgenstein as the son of a wealthy European oil tycoon who endured much tragedy in his younger life and eschewed wealth and privilege in his adult life; Popper coming from a more austere working class background.
A concise window into Wittgenstein's (and to some degree Popper and Russell's) works is also provided. Wittgenstein had published his brilliant yet somewhat obtuse "Tractatus Logico Philosophicus" some years earlier. Popper had written "The Open Society and Its Enemies," which was a scathing critique of authoritarianism and further developed the "open society" concept put forth by Bergson.
This book is a fascinating read, and provides enough concise background that one does not have to be a philosophy scholar to enjoy and benefit greatly from reading it. I highly recommend it!
Edmonds and Eidinow provide a fascinating window into a very brief, yet meaningful exchange between several of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century- Ludwig Wittgenstein, Karl Popper, and Bertrand Russell.
Wittgenstein and many of the philosophy faculty, graduate students and other scholars would gather weekly in a classroom on the campus of King's College in England for great philosophical discussions and stimulating debates.
On this particular occasion, at one of their meetings on a day in late October of 1946, Karl Popper was in the area giving a lecture and was invited to attend the meeting of the moral philosophy club. Wittgenstein's brief argument with Popper, which took place at that small classroom at King's College in the presence of Bertrand Russell and a handful of graduate philosophy students has become the stuff of legend.
Wittgenstein and Popper reportedly debated back and forth about their differing perspectives on the deep philosophical and linguistic argument at hand- including by some accounts Wittgenstein accentuating his point with a poker from the fireplace. Following this brief exchange, Wittgenstein reportedly made his point, threw down the poker and left the room. Reports differ as to who won the argument, but it has become part of both of their enduring philosophical legacies.
This thoughtful book sets the scene for this interesting exchange. The authors also provide a fascinating background into the early life and upbringing of both Wittgenstein and Popper- Wittgenstein as the son of a wealthy European oil tycoon who endured much tragedy in his younger life and eschewed wealth and privilege in his adult life; Popper coming from a more austere working class background.
A concise window into Wittgenstein's (and to some degree Popper and Russell's) works is also provided. Wittgenstein had published his brilliant yet somewhat obtuse "Tractatus Logico Philosophicus" some years earlier. Popper had written "The Open Society and Its Enemies," which was a scathing critique of authoritarianism and further developed the "open society" concept put forth by Bergson.
This book is a fascinating read, and provides enough concise background that one does not have to be a philosophy scholar to enjoy and benefit greatly from reading it. I highly recommend it!
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