Institute of Art and Ideas(@IAI_TV):The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein was, famously, not a fan of William Shakespeare. He wrote in 1946 that “Shakespeare's similes are, in the ordinary sense, bad.” But Wittgenstein’s opinion was not only one fuelled by aesthetic dislike. Professor of Philosophy William Day argues that Wittgenstein sees in Shakespeare a fellow explorer of skepticism, but one willing to travel down dark alleys that Wittgenstein himself sought to avoid. "What Wittgenstein covers his ears to may be just this silence, this nothing, that the Shakespearean tragic hero craves," writes Day. Tap here to read the full article.

2026.10.10 17:28

The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein was, famously, not a fan of William Shakespeare. He wrote in 1946 that “Shakespeare's similes are, in the ordinary sense, bad.” But Wittgenstein’s opinion was not only one fuelled by aesthetic dislike. Professor of Philosophy William Day argues that Wittgenstein sees in Shakespeare a fellow explorer of skepticism, but one willing to travel down dark alleys that Wittgenstein himself sought to avoid. "What Wittgenstein covers his ears to may be just this silence, this nothing, that the Shakespearean tragic hero craves," writes Day. Tap here to read the full article.