Wittgenstein, Meursault and the difficulty of philosophy
pp. 201-212
in: Martin Gustafsson, Lars Hertzberg (eds), The practice of language, Berlin, Springer, 2002Abstract
Ludwig Wittgenstein is generally considered to be an exceptionally difficult philosopher. But in what way is he difficult? Scarcely in the way that Edmund Husserl, with his extensive technical terminology, is difficult, for there is almost no technical vocabulary in (at least the late) Wittgenstein's writings. Nor is he difficult in the way that Martin Heidegger, with his lofty linguistic innovations, is difficult, for finding a philosopher whose language is more everyday than Wittgenstein's would be a difficult task. So why is Wittgenstein not rather one of the easiest philosophers to understand?
