1001Philosophers

Ludwig Wittgenstein Quotes on Justice

Ludwig Wittgenstein was an Austrian-British philosopher whose work transformed 20th-century analytic philosophy. This page collects quotes attributed to Ludwig Wittgenstein on the topic of justice, drawn from across the philosopher's works.

Quotes

  • “In a letter to Paul Engelmann (1917) as quoted in The Idea of Justice (2010) by Amartya Sen , p. 31”

    I work quite diligently and wish that I were better and smarter. And these both are one and the same.
  • “Burning in effigy. Kissing the picture of one's beloved... it aims at nothing at all; we just behave this way and then we feel satisfied.”

    Philosophical Occasions 1912-1951(1993) | Ch. 7 : Remarks on Frazer's Golden Bough , p. 123
  • “The Sabbath is not simply a time to rest, to recuperate. We should look at our work from the outside, not just from within.”

    Culture and Value(1980) | p. 91e
  • “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 played.”

    Personal Recollections(1981) | p. 96
  • “So in the end when one is doing philosophy one gets to the point where one would like just to emit an inarticulate sound.”

    Philosophical Investigations(1953) | § 261