1001Philosophers

Norman Malcolm Quotes

Norman Adrian Malcolm was an American philosopher and the principal American interpreter of Wittgenstein's later philosophy. After studies at Nebraska, Harvard, and Cambridge, where he formed a deep friendship with Wittgenstein, he spent his career at Cornell, training a generation of Wittgensteinian philosophers. The quotes below are attributed to Norman Malcolm, organized by topic.

Norman Malcolm on God

  • Attributed to Norman Malcolm:

    “Anselm's modal argument deserves to be taken more seriously than it has been.”

Norman Malcolm on Mind

  • Attributed to Norman Malcolm:

    “Dreaming is not an experience that is later remembered; it is the recollection itself.”

  • Attributed to Norman Malcolm:

    “The grammar of psychological concepts is the proper subject of the philosophy of mind.”

Norman Malcolm on Truth

  • Attributed to Norman Malcolm:

    “What can be shown cannot be said.”

  • Attributed to Norman Malcolm:

    “Wittgenstein's later philosophy invites us out of the metaphysical fly-bottle.”

Read all Norman Malcolm quotes on Truth