Wittgenstein, Lewis Carroll and Humpty Dumpty

First, a quotation from Charles Dodgeson..

`I don't know what you mean by "glory",' Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. `Of course you don't -- till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"'

`But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument",' Alice objected.

`When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.'

`The question is,' said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different things.'

`The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master -- that's all.'

Alice was too much puzzled to say anything; so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. `They've a temper, some of them -- particularly verbs: they're the proudest -- adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs -- however, I can manage the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That's what I say!'

The BBC have just reported upon a poll largely concerning the notion of multiculturalism. David Davis (probable Tory leader quite soon and shadow home secretary) and Robert Kilroy-Silk agree (schlock horreur) upon the result - the respondents do not understand what the word 'multicultural' means. Sadly, I think they are correct. What passes for dialogue between governors and governed is often just a confused fog of conflicting definitions. Read Crooked Timber or Butterflies and Wheels, both with a generally erudite readership, and watch enlightened liberals get their knickers in a twist over dodgy definitions. What hope can there be for Texan Baptists and Bradford Buddhists?

I am coming more and more to see how wise was Wittgenstein in his analysis of the project of philosophy, it is therapy for society, antibiotics for the intellect.