If a lion could talk, we could not understand him (II, xi; p. 223 of the 1968 English edn.)
LanguageCommunicationUnderstandingHuman naturePerspectiveAlienationDifference
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Even if a lion could speak, its language and perspective would be too alien for humans to comprehend.
- In plain terms
- We cannot understand a lion even if it talked because its experience is too different.
- What can you take from it?
- Understanding depends on shared forms of life or experience.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes understanding possible?
- Can we ever truly know another's experience?
Another view
It may underestimate the capacity for empathy or translation across differences.
More from Ludwig Wittgenstein
So we do sometimes think because it has been found to pay. (470)
Permalink to quote #58 1. If you do know that here is one hand, we'll grant you all the rest.
Permalink to quote #60 Does man think because he has found that thinking pays? Does he bring his children up because he has found it pays? (467)
Permalink to quote #57
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