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Full Idea
One of the most conspicuous things about Wittgenstein is that, on the ethics side, he pared his life down to the minimum, so as to make as central as possible his search for decency, the drive to be a decent person.
Gist of Idea
Wittgenstein pared his life down in his search for decency
Source
Ray Monk (Interview with Baggini and Stangroom [2001], p.14)
Book Ref
Baggini,J/Stangroom,J: 'New British Philosophy' [Routledge 2002], p.14
A Reaction
It rather looks as if decency was quite an effort for him, as he had a rather waspish temperament, and people found it hard to get close to him. On the whole, though, he sounds like good company, as do nearly all the great philosophers.
| 21380 | The only aim of our existence is to grasp that non-existence would be better [Schopenhauer] |
| 9261 | The 'Ethics' is disappointing, because it fails to try to justify our duties [Prichard] |
| 19628 | At a civilisation's peak values are all that matters, and people unconsciously live by them [Cioran] |
| 22444 | A moral system must deal with the dangers and benefits of life [Foot] |
| 8059 | The good life for man is the life spent seeking the good life for man [MacIntyre] |
| 6850 | Wittgenstein pared his life down in his search for decency [Monk] |
| 19738 | Values are an attempt to achieve well-being by bringing contingencies under control [Kekes] |
| 20145 | Values help us to control life, by connecting it to what is stable and manageable [Kekes] |