Chuang Tzu compared with the early Wittgenstein

Han Linke

pp. 297-329

The early Wittgentein talked a lot about what is the mystical and hinted that these are the most important things for him. But it is anything but an easy task to make sense of his talks on this subject. And some commentators even claim that it is impossible to do this. It shall be shown that we could understand the early Wittgenstein better if we had some knowledge of the thought of Chuang Tzu, a leading classical Chinese Taoist philosopher. For both of them were to solve the problems of life. And they offered the very same solution to them: to accept unconditionally everything which happens to one and in this way to become one with the world as a whole. Finally, both of them insisted that the subject who becomes one with the world and the realm in which he is immersed are mystical, cannot be said meaningfully.

Publication details

DOI: 10.5840/gps200058/5927

Full citation:

Linke, H. (2000). Chuang Tzu compared with the early Wittgenstein. Grazer Philosophische Studien 58-59, pp. 297-329.

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