Category: Note / Remark

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Note | Wittgenstein’s Language Game

What is Language Game

Language game (Sprachspiel) is the central theory or the kew concept of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s later philosophy.

The definition of language game is ”activities of people follow a rule” of which model is language and its activity, and it can apply all of human activities, expression and behaviours.

For philosophers of the Modern philosophy and the former philosophy of Wittgenstein, language is a tool reflects the fact. But the former philosophy of Wittgenstein turned the view point to language.

Metaphor of Chess

First, Wittgenstein think language as a metaphor of chess. Like chess meanings of words and sentences are relative, and they are regulated by several rules.

Same as chess, language is consist of an unity of various rules. A meaning of a word is a position in which a word occupies. To know a meaning of a word is to know the usage of a word.

And, Wittgenstein adapted language game to all of human acts and behaviours.

Language is Activity

Wittgenstein thought the essence of language is human activity. Wittgenstein grasped language as a dynamic use or act in an actual scene. Because, all statements and perceptions in activity are done by a purpose or a view point.

Our society is network of language game. Language game made us be capable of use language, is a thing sustain the world we live, also is realized by form of life (Lebensform).

Game Precedes Rules / Rules Has Not A Reason

On language, acts precede a grammar. We can play a language game naturally, despite we don’t know the whole rules and we only know fragments of rules.

Then, why do words have meanings ? And, how come words can indicate things ? Because, in language game, words are connected to meanings and things by rules.

But it can’t be guaranteed. It’s only enough to understand rules and to behave following rules. Also we can’t explain all of rules, need not to be aware it. So rules has no absolute reason or root. Rules is being composed in an activity of a language game.

Family Resemblance

Any language games aren’t completely different. Also all language games has not identical essences and contents. But tennis, table tennis and squash are different language games, but they are resemble. And politics, commerce, war, football and jazz performance are partly resemble. Language games forms a network by their resemblances. Wittgenstein named this characteristics of language game family resemblance.

Relativism / Intellectualism

There are many language games in the world. Each of them is a relative thing. But you need to choose one of them by your subjectivity. So, on language game, Intellectualism and relativism are compatible with each other.

Conclusion

From ancient times, philosophers investigated cause or motive on a society or of the world. But Wittgenstein’s language game is groundless fact and act have no cause and necessity. Wittgenstein criticized this bad habit of philosophers. Language game only realized in acts and is sustained by form of life. This view of Wittgenstein is acute rebuke to intellectualism or voluntarism of the Western philosophy. By the concept of family resemblance, essentialism from Plato is denied.

Language game is a theory of philosophy as anti-philosophy. It deconstructed intellectualism and humane subjectivity, the root of philosophy. And the concept of language game resembles Saussurean linguistics, also preceded post-structuralism and post-modernism. Language game opened up the possibility of pluralism, anti-essentialism and anti-intellectualism is valid in the contemporary world.

References

A. C. Grayling, Wittgenstein: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2001)

Daisaburo Hashizume, Language Game for Beginners (Kodansha, 2009)

Paul Strathern, Wittgenstein in 90 Minutes (Ivan R. Dee, 1996)

Ray Monk, How to Read Wittgenstein (W. W. Norton, 2005)

Hitoshi Imamura, 101 People of the Contemporary Thought (Shinshokan, 1999)

Shigeto Nuki, Illustrated & Standard History of Philosophy (Shinshokan, 2008)

Shigeto Nuki, Philosophy Map (Chikuma New Books, 2004)

Seiji Takeda & Ken Nishi, The First Histoty of Philosophy: To Think Profoundly (Yuhikaku, 1998)

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Note | Abandoning a Cat, When I Talk About My Father by Haruki Murakami, Bungeishunju

Summary

A day of the early age of showa 30’s (1955 – 1965), Murakami and his father went to abandon a big female cat at the beach of Koroen. But she went home ahead somehow, and continued to live together. For Murakami, why he agreed with abandoning, why the cat went home ahead are remain as a mystery. (pp. 9-15)

Murakami’s father, Chiaki Murakami every morning prayed to a statue of bodhisattva in a small grass case for dead people by the war. (pp. 15-17)

Chiaki Murakami was born in Kyoto, on 1917, as the second son of a buddhist temple family. And he was in the misfortune age involved in the WW II. When grand father died, he was expected to take over the temple, but he denied, his older brother Shimei took over the temple. (pp.17-30)

His father served in the war from 1938, by a working-level mistake of a document. He fought fiercely against the China army, as a logistics officer. And he told that he watched, at the battlefield, the unit he belonged was forced to kill Chinese prisoners. (pp. 37-52)

Chiaki Murakami was an intelligent person, so, after the conscription, he entered the Kyoto Imperial University from a buddhist professional school. (pp. 56-58)

In September 1941, he be recruited again. But in 30 November, 8 days before the opening of the Pacific War, some show he was exempt from military service. The 16th division, he was supposed to belong, fought in fought a severe battle in the Southeast and pacific especially Bataan, and destroyed at the Battle of Layte. (pp. 64-76)

Murakami’s father became a teacher of Japanese for a means of living. He was a excellence teacher and adored by many students. (pp. 76-81)

Sometimes, Murakami felt strange if his father wasn’t exempt from military service,,, fiance of mother wasn’t died at the war,,, he doesn’t exist in the world. He thinks an activity to live as a novelist is an unreal transient fantasy. (pp. 90-91)

(…)

Characters

Haruki Murakami

Chiaki Murakami – Murakami’s father was born in Kyoto, on 1917, as the second son of a buddhist temple family. A teacher of Japanese at a junior high school and a high school. He died in August 2008 at the age 90.

A big female tabby cat – Murakami and his father went to abandon at the beach of Koroen, Nishinomiya. But she went home ahead, and continued to live together.

Benshiki Murakami – Murakami’s grand father. The abbot of a big Jodo-shu temple Anyouji.

Shimei Murakami – Murakami’s uncle, the oldest son, resigned from a tax office and took over the buddhist temple.

Murakami’s mother – Was a teacher of Japanese too. A daughter of a wealthy merchant family of Osaka.

A cute small white kitten – At an evening, a cat Murakami’s family keeps, climbed up to the upper part of at a pine tree in the yard, and can’t come down.

Keywords & Key Elements

a statue of bodhisattva in a small grass case

haiku

trauma

history

taking over

Hanshin-kan (between Osaka-Kobe)

cinema

mysterious common experience

story

Details of the Book

Abandoning a Cat, When I Talk About My Father
Haruki Murakami
Bungeishunju, Tokyo, Japan, 23 April 2020
104 pages, JPY 1320
ISBN 978-4163911939
Contents

  • Abandoning a Cat
  • Afterword: A Fragment of History

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Note | Philosophy of René Descartes

Originator of the Modern Philosophy

René Descartes was the originator of the modern philosophy. Also he was a polymath made great contributions in mathematics and physics. He opened up the new frontier and the starting point of modern philosophy and modern science, and made the basic method, rule and questions of modern philosophy. But he left many problems behind.

Methodological Skepticism

From his youth, Descartes questioned and searched the truth and the certainty of philosophy and science. But he felt, on mathematics, especially arithmetic and geometry, there’s a special certainty of human knowledge. So he pursued the certainty like mathematics on philosophy and all sciences.

Descartes’ point of arrival is the methodological skepticism and the principles of “Cogito ergo sum”. The methodological skepticism is an intentional doubt on all knowledge and things to acquire the truth and certainty. To produce the positive and reliable philosophy and science, Descartes strongly doubted temporarily and eliminated all doubtful and uncertain things beforehand. On positive philosophical system, there should not be an uncertain thing.

1 – Descartes regard external things and internal senses as uncertain. 2 – He regard the reality as uncertain. Because during we see a dream, I can’t comprehend it is dream or reality. When I wake up, I comprehend it is a dream. 3 – The mathematical truth may be uncertain, because the omnipotent and omniscient God has the power to deceive me. 4 – Then all things are doubtful and there is no certain thing. But my thinking is here, is not nothing. Doubt for my own thinking repeats, and my thinking can’t be removed on this consideration, like “Are all things dream ?”, “I am deceived by the God ?” So my thinking is certain, and I must exist by thinking. Then Descartes states “I think therefore I am.” (Cogito ergo sum. « Je pense, donc je suis. ») is undoubtedly and certain.

The import characteristics of Descartes’ skepticism is which is a starting point of philosophical study, not an end like Pyrrho’s skepticism. Pyrrho’s is epoché (suspension of judgment) to obtain a calmness of mind. Descartes’ skepticism is an intentional method to find a certain thing for philosophy and science.

Existence of God

From cogito, at first, Descartes certified the existence of God. For the present, the God is an idea of us, and the possible content of the God is the infinite substance. The “infinity” isn’t generated by human as a finite being. The infinity must be generated by infinite being, so the God is exist.

The God is the perfect being, so he must exist. The existential concept of the God is more perfect than possible beings or nothing. Also the God is the perfect good, so the God don’t deceive us. So there’s the God’s integrity, and exist of beings of the world is certified.

Subject / Object Dichotomy

Then contrary to the way of the methological skepticism, Descartes concerned things and beings of the external world. I exist precede (a priori) to external world. The world exists owing to my conscience and is a result of my thinking.

On Descartes’ thought, human conscience is a subject, and the external world is an object. So all of things in the world are object for men to percept and to think. And the reason of exist of things is me.

This Descartes’ subject-object dichotomy and the thought of “all things are perceptional objects” became a basis of the positive science by survey, observation and experiment. Also it drove scientific researches and became a basic thought of the modern society which control the nature by technology.

Dualism of Mind and Body

By Descartes’ thought, subject is a pure being of thinking (mental substance, res cogitans). Descartes explained by the wax argument, essence of physical things is extension which occupies certain space (extended and unthinking substance, res extensa). This view is called foundationalism.

Also by Descartes skepticism, my body is dubious thing. Human body is also an extension and an object. So Descartes regard body as a delicate machine, and it resulted the theory of Man a Machine (L’homme-machine).

The Problem of Descartes

Conclusion

References

René Descartes, Discours de la méthode (Édition j’ai lu, 2013)

Paul Strathern, Descartes in 90 Minutes (Ivan R. Dee, 1996)

Tom Sorell, Descartes: A Very Short Instroduction (Oxford University Press, 2001)

Jean-François Revel, Histoire de la philosophie occidentale (Nil Éditions, 1994)

Luc Ferry & Claude Capelier, La plus belle histoire de la philosophie (Éditions Points, 2014)

Roger-Pol Droit, Une brève histoire de la philosophie (Flammarion, 2008)

Bertrand Russell, The History of Western Philosophy (Simon & Schuster, 1972)

Nigel Warburton, A Little History of Philosophy (Yale University Press, 2011)

Roger Scruton, A Short History of Modern Philosophy (Routledge, 2002)

Gen Kida, History of Anti-Philosophy (Kodansha Academic Library, 2000)

Seiji Takeda, An Adventure on The Contemporary Thought (Chikuma Arts-and-Science Library, 1992)

Seiji Takeda, An Introduction to Philosophy: To Know Thyself (Chikuma Arts-and-Science Library, 1993)

Shigeto Nuki, Illustrated & Standard History of Philosophy (Shinshokan, 2008)

Shigeto Nuki, Philosophy Map (Chikuma New Books, 2004)

Sumihiko Kumano, The History of Western Philosophy: From The Modern Ages to The Present Day (Iwanami New Books, 2006)

Thierry Paquot & François Pépin, Dictionnaire Larousse de la Philosophie (Éditions Larousse, 2011)

Simon Blackburn, The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (Second Edition Revised), (Oxford University Press, 2008)

Robert Audi, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (Second Edition), (Cambridge University Press, 1995)

Thomas Mautner, The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy (Second Edition), (Penguin Books, 2005)

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