Sunday, April 15, 2007

The World Is Everything That Is the Case

Daryl Hine

     Ludwig Wittgenstein

Embodying the liar's paradox,
    Why did he have to reinvent the wheel?
    Unable, he said, to lie or cheat or steal,
Or understand it when a lion talks,
How to construe a language game that mocks
    Significance, too scrupulous to feel
    That others are indubitably real,
Puzzled the solitary chatterbox.

Ultimate mystery, another's pain
    Even the saint that caused it might refuse
        To recognize, like a strange native place.
What does it profit anyone to gain
    His own imaginary soul, and lose
        Forever everything that is the case?



2008: Failure by Kay Ryan

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm just starting to learn about Wittgenstein, but this is great

dan said...

I've read a bit about him ... Wikipedia stuff ... and there is some good discussion in Rebecca Goldstein's book: Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel