book: wittgenstein's poker]

Ian Murray seamus2001 at home.com
Sun Oct 28 15:27:29 PST 2001


----- Original Message ----- From: "ravi" <gadfly at home.com>


>
> It was an autumn night in October 1946. In a room at
King's
> College, Cambridge, a philosophical seminar was in progress.
Bertrand
> Russell was present, the chairman of the gathering was Ludwig
Wittgenstein,
> and the evening's guest lecturer was Karl Popper, who had come
especially
> from London...


>How did the incident end?
> According to Popper, Wittgenstein then tauntingly challenged him to
provide
> one example of a valid moral rule. Popper, in a brilliant retort,
quickly
> replied, "Here's a moral rule: not to threaten visiting lecturers
with
> pokers." Wittgenstein, insulted and angry, immediately walked out.
>

======== Popper was notorious for striking a student later in his professional life. Funny how that doesn't come up in the essay.

Ian



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