Friday, February 9, 2018

Anscombe and Wittgenstein

Looking for information about this book I came across a blog post with some nice memories of Anscombe. It's by Louis Roy O.P., and he writes:
During homilies, she and her husband Peter Geach, himself also a renowned philosopher, would look at the preacher with severe, apparently distrustful eyes. Given that they had got in touch with the Dominican prior provincial of England to accuse of heresy a friar at Cambridge who was on the whole more traditional than me in his ideas, it was intimidating to preach in front of these two powerful and highly critical intellects.
If accusing people of heresy doesn't sound very nice, this is more heartening:
Yet they cared for Dominicans and they invited me to dinner once. Their residence had no curtains – a bit like the bare house Wittgenstein had designed for his sister. Seated on the floor, they drew for me the truth tables (or logical constants) of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus on a little black slate. Realizing that I was not understanding much about those tables, I was afraid they would summon me to rephrase the gist of what they had taught me – which I would have been incapable of doing. Fortunately, I did not undergo this humiliation, because it was soon time for supper. The prayers were pronounced with piety. Suddenly John, a simple-minded person who would spend his days in town, speaking with anybody – including me –, appeared and ate with us. The Geaches had invited him to occupy a room in their home, but he declined, explaining he would prefer staying next door, in the shed.
The whole thing is worth reading.

6 comments:

  1. That photo of Anscombe, which I've seen before: "... would look at the preacher with severe, apparently distrustful eyes ....": that has to be the very look that is captured in that picture.

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    1. It seems like it. What she was actually thinking, of course, is anyone's guess.

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  2. interesting to equate doctrinal/institutional conservatism with "critical intellects"

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    1. I didn't think that equation was made. As I read it, Anscombe and Geach are identified as being both critical intellects and doctrinally conservative, but there's no 'i.e.' or 'therefore' in either direction connecting the two.

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    2. but no tension between the two?

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    3. Well, maybe. As far as I can see she thought for herself and happened to come to doctrinally conservative positions. To the extent that this is surprising I suppose there's a tension.

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