The article features a conversation between Oliver Adelson and philosopher Graham Priest exploring the theme of self-referential contradictions in philosophical thought, particularly in the works of Immanuel Kant and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Priest posits that philosophical assertions about the limits of language present a paradox when philosophers argue for concepts that ostensibly lie beyond verbal articulation, exemplifying a fundamental tension where discussing the indefinable undermines the premise itself. This discussion draws on various philosophical traditions, emphasizing that this contradiction is central to understanding language and truth.
"There's this phenomenon you get in philosophy from all the traditions I'm aware of-analytic, continental, east, west-where someone comes up with a view about the relationship between language and, for want of a better word, the world, such that there are things out there in the world that you can't talk about."
"The problem that such a view faces is that, if you say there are such things, and even worse if you argue that there are such things-as all these philosophers do-then you must talk about them."
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