Well, it only took the encouragement of two comments on my previous post to think that maybe I can pull this off. So thank you, Erin and Tricia.

Introduction:
You know, there is nothing like educating yourself to help you start worrying about things you weren't worried about before. I'd like to do my part in spreading a little anxiety by sharing what I've learned about a topic that has, quite honestly, actually been a source of joy, stimulation, insight, and, yes, a bit of anxiety for me. That topic is twentieth century analytic philosophy and its consequences.

Now don't be put off by the long words there. I promise to make this introductory tour of, admittedly, a rarely discussed topic to be both palatable and digestible. All I ask on the part of the reader is a bit of curiosity, and perhaps some tenacity at getting through what is likely to be a series of blog posts offered in bite sized chunks.

Let's start with a little motivation. Let's say you are at a party where you meet a charming and handsome west coast blogger who wants to talk about his appreciation for the insights of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Now what are you going to do? Well, you might start by spilling your glass of wine on yourself so you can excuse yourself from the situation and then drive home to spend another evening watching t.v. alone in bed.

OR, you can familiarize yourself with the contents of these articles so you can both engage in some satisfying philosophical insights that tingle the toes while at the same time firmly plant your heels to the ground. You can share some amusing and heady observations and delight in that oh so unique feeling when you realize that what you thought you knew, you didn't know and what you thought you didn't know, you in fact did. Or to put it in even simpler terms, good philosophy can do for you what good art and literature do as well, they all help make the old world new. And doesn't that sound better than waking up alone again?

We might as well start with an observation made by Wittgenstein himself, and there will be a lot more to say about him much later in this series. But for now let's just start with his good advice that one of the best ways to gain philosophical insights is to temporarily make yourself artificially stupid. Now listen, when it comes to needing a tour guide through the land of stupidity, my readers can hardly do better than to rely on the experience and guidance of yours truly.

I intend to walk us through a series of mental gymnastics and exercises and part of this will entail that bit about becoming artificially stupid. I'll occasionally ask readers to accept as certain some dubious ideas that no normal, reasonable person would ever accept. If I do my job right, then at the end of the exercise we will find that the things we thought were ridiculous will become the solid foundation under our feet while at the same time discovering that some unconsidered but firmly held beliefs disappear like fairy dust.

Sounds like a tall order? Maybe. Maybe. I'm not promising I can pull this off, but let's just see.

Come back next time for the first part of our tour of the absurd but true. Chapter one is titled appropriately enough…

Words Don't Have Meaning.

See you tomorrow.