Philosophy—Therapy—Mythology: On a Triangulated Analogy in the Philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein

On a Triangulated Analogy in the Philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein

Abstract

The article’s main aim i s to invite healing practitioners to read andinterpret the philosophical writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein as relevant for their practices. It outlines Wittgenstein’s philosophical orientation using his own triangulated analogy between the fields of philosophy, therapy and mythology. It is argued that Wittgenstein, throughout his philosophical life, considered philosophy as an activity for clarifying philosophical confusion. Philosophizing is thus, like medicine, a treatment for making a troubling state disappear or dissolve. Wittgenstein pointed out that his methods of philosophical clarification might be compared to psychoanalysis. Based on this analogy, philosophical clarification renders a troubling mythology harmless by using a less troubling mythology. This view can in turn shed light on the philosophical confusion that may accompany a scientific worldview. Such confusion emerges when belief in the absoluteness of scientific truth hinders acknowledgement of the truths and insights from other cultures.