Darlin asked:

What is your reflection about, ‘Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.’?

Answer by Shaun Williamson

This is a remark from Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations. It is a reminder of what he thought the task of philosophy should be.

In his later work Wittgenstein thought the following:

1. There are no philosophical truths or true philosophical theorems.

2. There are no solutions to philosophical problems.

3. There are no real philosophical problems.

4. The task of philosophy is to help us to disentangle our superstitions about our own language and to stop us thinking philosophically.

The only question here is, is Wittgenstein right? If he is right then we cannot prove that he is right, it is a matter of experience. If you find Wittgenstein’s method helps you to dissolve a philosophical problem so that you no longer feel the need to solve it then you will know that he was was right.