The Limitations of Language

People, as Wittgenstein theorizes, "cannot be said to learn of my sensations only from my behaviour, for I cannot be said to learn of them- I have them" (Wittgenstein, 1953, p. 89). On the other hand, this sort of "investigation" of sensations makes Wittgenstein ask whether "sensations are private" (p. 90). And, if they are not -- if somehow, other people are attuned to how we feel pain (not feel ABOUT pain) -- then it seems that there is also the possibility that sensations like pain can be faked, simulated, as an actor in a medical TV show might. These language games are really semantics. We invent a word for something, Art, let's suppose, and then expect people to understand what it means. There is Art (Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock), and there is Art (Grandma Moses, Norman Rockwell) and there is Art (Michelangelo, Leonardo DaVinci) and there is Art (PLAYBOY centerfolds, Graffiti). Wittgenstein, in commenting on an illustration said, "We can also see the illustration now as one thing now as anot

. . .
dite come to a common agreement of where and how to start. That has to be simplicity itself. Therefore, the individual and individualistic words like "appreciation" and even "Art" must be dispensed with since they have no commonality. As was mentioned earlier, "Art" means something totally different to everyone. As Wittgenstein seems to point out there may be a relation but also a vast difference between a "vision" and an "idea". What does all have to do with Aesthetics? My Unabridged Dictionary (Funk & Wagnall's) defines Aesthetics as "the science of beauty and taste". "Beauty", at least, implies seeing something and acknowledging it as a thing of beauty. But, Wittgenstein has stated that "we do not see everything as something" (Monk 508). In a sense, this implies that when someone says "I see!" they are referring to understanding something rather than having a specific "visual" experience. One might as easily say "I get it!" "Or I understand it!". One has to reflect back on Wittgenstein's theory about no two people being able to experience the same senses. "I feel your pain" is meaningless in language games. Just as "I see a knife and fork (p. 508) is. Wittgenstein turns to judgments, rather than language. "We are
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Book Wittgenstein, Pieta Art, LANGUAGE AESTHETICS, PRECISELY Wittgenstein, Funk Wagnall's, People Wittgenstein, THESIS Wittgenstein, Graffiti Wittgenstein, Art Appreciation, Braxton Mozart, language games, feel pain, wittgenstein ludwig, imagine people, true false, world picture, book drawer' 'the, ludwig philosophical, book drawer', drawer' 'the, religion ethics aesthetics, philosophical investigations, drawer' 'the water, wittgenstein ludwig philosophical, ludwig philosophical investigations,
Approximate Word count = 1772
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

More Essays on The Limitations of Language