“What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence”, stated the philosopher Wittgenstein. In the early 20th century, Wittgenstein appeared to have proved that we can never understand the relationship between language and the world. Yet, almost 100 years after Wittgenstein’s ‘Tractatus’, many continue to wildy speculate about the meaning and nature of reality using our all-to-human language.
Have we ignored Wittgenstein’s clear message, that we can never know how language relates to the world? Are all our lofty descriptions about the nature of reality and metaphysics simply nonsense? Or was Wittgenstein wrong, and can we continue on in our human quest to accurately describe the world around us?
Author of the bestselling Zed Joanna Kavenna, philosopher Ray Brassier and philosopher and pioneer of 'theory fiction' Reza Negarestani lock horns over how we understand the world.