''Wittgenstein's Poker: The Story of a Ten-Minute Argument Between Two Great Philosophers'' is a 2001 book by BBC journalists David Edmonds and

John Eidinow Fra' John Eidinow is the Presiding Fellow at St. Benet's Hall, Oxford, a barrister, and a Knight of Justice of the Order of Malta. Early life Eidinow was born and raised in London. Academic career Eidinow read Classics at Merton College, Oxford ...

about events in the history of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

involving Sir

Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the ...

and

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian- British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is consi ...

, leading to a confrontation at the

Cambridge University Moral Sciences Club The Cambridge University Moral Sciences Club, founded in October 1878, is a philosophy discussion group that meets weekly at the University of Cambridge during term time. Speakers are invited to present a paper with a strict upper time limit of 4 ...

in 1946. The book was a bestseller and received positive reviews.

Summary

On 25 October 1946, Popper (at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

), was invited to present a paper entitled "Are There Philosophical Problems?" at a meeting of the

, which was chaired by Wittgenstein. The two started arguing vehemently over whether there existed substantial problems in philosophy, or merely linguistic puzzles—the position taken by Wittgenstein. In Popper's, and the popular account, Wittgenstein used a fireplace poker to emphasize his points, gesturing with it as the argument grew more heated. Eventually, Wittgenstein claimed that philosophical problems were nonexistent, in response, Popper claimed there were many issues in philosophy, such as setting a basis for moral guidelines. Wittgenstein then thrust a poker chip at Popper, challenging him to give any example of a moral rule, Popper (later) claimed to have said:

“Not to threaten visiting lecturers with pokers”

upon which (according to Popper) Wittgenstein threw down the poker and stormed out. ''Wittgenstein's Poker'' collects and characterizes the accounts of the argument, as well as establishing the context of the careers of Popper, Wittgenstein and

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, a ...

. This meeting was the only time the three were in the same room together. However, its historicity is arguable, and is claimed to have the potential to have been dramatised by Popper.Henry JL & Edmonds D (July 28 2021)
‘Wittgenstein's Poker’
(no.11) in ''The Popperian Podcast''. Retrieved 13 March 2023 The book follows three narrative threads, each pivoting off the 1946 confrontation at Cambridge; the first is a documentary investigation into what precisely took place and the controversy over the differing accounts from observers; the second, a comparative personal history of the philosophers, contrasting their origins in Vienna and their differing ascents to philosophical prominence; and thirdly an exploration of the philosophical significance of the disagreement between the two and its relevance for the great debates in the early 20th century concerning the

philosophy of language In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of Meaning (philosophy of language), meanin ...

Editions

* 2001. . Ecco,

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...

, New York. * 2002. . Paperback. Ecco, HarperCollins, New York.

References

External links

Book discussion on ''Wittgenstein's Poker'' with David Edmonds, February 8, 2002
2001 books 21st-century history books History books about philosophy History books about England British philosophy Culture of the University of Cambridge History of the University of Cambridge HarperCollins books {{philo-book-stub

Summary

Editions

References

Further reading

External links