Most commentators interpret Wittgenstein’s
Z608 to suggest that language and thought may arise out physical chaos or even nothingness at the neural center. Various commentators hold that it suggests the possibility of causal indeterminism at the neural center, or that it anticipates connectionist systems at the neural center, or that there may turn out to be a pile of sawdust at the neural center of normal people, etc. However, such readings are plainly incompatible with Wittgenstein’s signature view that the philosopher must not advance “any kind of theory.” There is a very different way to read this paragraph. Wittgenstein told Drury that he cannot help conceiving philosophical problems from a
religious point of view—and, in fact, the key concepts in
Z608, (the emergence of order from chaos or nothingness at the center), are the foundational concepts in the Western religious tradition tracing to ancient cosmogony. This same creation imagery is also found in two of Wittgenstein’s main influences: Augustine and Goethe. The present paper argues that
Z608 is
not advancing theories about hidden processes, but, rather, is
comparing the production of language and thought with the
creation of the
cosmos from chaos at
the center of forms of life in order to promote a new way of looking at language and thought. Against this background, the paper argues that Wittgenstein’s view in
Z608 (and in general) is closer to the Goethean model of creation than the Augustinian model. The paper concludes with some remarks about the relevance of Wittgenstein’s view to contemporary theories in cognitive science.
