It is one of the chief skills of the philosopher not to occupy himself with questions which do not concern him.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Philosophers should ignore irrelevant questions to focus on what truly matters.
- In plain terms
- Do not waste time on questions that do not matter to you.
- What can you take from it?
- Focus your intellectual effort on relevant problems.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you know if a question matters?
- Is curiosity always good?
Another view
Seemingly irrelevant questions can lead to important discoveries.
More from Ludwig Wittgenstein
In order to be able to set a limit to thought, we should have to find both sides of the limit thinkable (i.e. we should have to be able to think what cannot be…
Permalink to quote #117 It is so characteristic, that just when the mechanics of reproduction are so vastly improved, there are fewer and fewer people who know how the music should be…
Permalink to quote #119 If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world.
Permalink to quote #116
Related quotes
The real discovery is the one which enables me to stop doing philosophy when I want to. The one that gives philosophy peace, so that it is no longer tormented …
Ludwig WittgensteinLudwig Wittgenstein quote #133 Que sais-je?
Michel de MontaigneMichel de Montaigne quote #1 Ghostwritten's secret agenda is to offer up eight different answers to the question, 'Why do things happen?' so it has the right to monkey about with time and …
David MitchellDavid Mitchell quote #1