不过我得承认,他自己写的书我基本看不懂,而且如果不是因为对他特别感兴趣,估计是连看都不会去看的。所以我只能多点看别人写他的书。
有人说他是gay。他究竟是不是喜欢男人,这一点暂时未明。但是他讨厌女人到是有依据的。他的天性就是聪明绝顶+100%诚实,所以他也讨厌一切跟他的天性相反的事物。他觉得女人又笨又不诚实,或者两者必居其一,所以,不能不讨厌。平森特(Pinsent),他的好朋友,也就是上文提到的那本书的日记作者,在一则日记中说,有一天,他们在讨论妇女选举权问题(Women Suffrage),Wittgenstein强烈反对,没啥特别原因除了他觉得他认识的所有的女人都笨的要命。然后,Wittgenstein又补充说,曼彻斯特大学的女学生把所有的时间都用来和教授调情,让他觉得非常恶心。(Wittgenstein在去剑桥之前,曾经在曼彻斯特大学读工程还是机械之类的某个专业)
原文如下:
We talked about Woman suffrage: he is very much against it - for no particular reason except that 'all the women he knows are such idiots'. He said that at Manchester University the girl students spend all their time flirting with the professors. Which disgusts him very much - as he dislikes half measures of all sorts, and disapproves of anything not deadly in earnest. (A Portrait of Wittgenstein as a Young Man. ed. G. H. von Wright. 1990 p5)
大部分号称讨厌女人的男人,其实都是因为太差劲总弄不到女人,所以就只好酸溜溜的说,俺讨厌女人。但是Wittgenstein绝对不是。他长得挺不错的,虽然脾气很不好。但是,但是,他家里超级超级有钱,富可敌国。这一点优势在情场上绝对可以弥补他脾气不好的不足。他家不但富有,还是书香门第世家,他父母都是很重视文化教育的人。所以他即使脾气再怎么不好,还是很有教养的一个人。他们家的小孩的教育可是半点不含糊马虎的。比如,我忘记了在哪本书看来的了。他和他的哥哥姐姐们小时候换过家庭教师无数。连学个外语而已,比如学英语,请来的教师都必须得文化教养很好的英国本地人。他有什么突发奇想的念头想学什么,只要是钱能办到的事,他老爸都不当一回事,马上送他去。他自己本人也是从来没把钱当成个东西,他邀请朋友跟他一起去度假的时候,都是主动要求承担一切费用的。比如,他邀请Pinsent(平森特)跟他一起去冰岛旅游的时候,根据平森特的日记,是这样的场景:
After my first surprise I asked what he estimated the cost would be: upon which he said - 'Oh, that donesn't matter: I have no money and you have no money - at least, if you have, it doesn't matter. But my father has a lot'...(A Portrait of Wittgenstein as a Young Man. ed. G. H. von Wright. 1990 p44)
至于他家究竟多有钱,从Wiki上的一些注释可以看出来。二战期间,他们家因为有“犹太血统”的嫌疑,可能遭受纳粹的迫害。但是,纳粹看到他们家那么有钱,想以此敲竹杆。大概就是Wittgenstein家给纳粹一些钱,然后纳粹就不把他们划入迫害名单之类的吧。Wiki上是这样说的,在二战爆发大概一周前,Wittgenstein家签署给纳粹的钱的数目未明,但是,其中包括1.7吨的黄金(2008年的金价是900美元一盎司),仅仅是这些金就值5千万美元,而且除此之外,还给了纳粹很多很多其他资产。然后Wiki又说,还好他们给纳粹那些财物的时候,二战还没开始,不然,战后审判的时候,他们家一定会被判协助敌国罪,可能会受绞刑。(我觉得其实即使他们真的是二战开始之后才给,这样判他们也是很不公平的,因为谁愿意那么无聊随便给钱别人,还不是被逼的。)
Wiki的原文如下:
The unknown amount signed over to the Nazis by the Wittgenstein family, a week or so before the outbreak of war, included amongst many other assets 1.7 tonnes of gold.[43] At 2008 prices (US$900 per ounce), this amount of gold alone would be worth in excess of US$50 million. Had the transfer occurred only weeks later, it would have counted as aiding an enemy state in time of war, for which the maximum penalty was death by hanging.[44]
费了这么多口舌,就是想说明他家真的不是一般的有钱。如果他想,他完全够资格作一个游戏人间,穷奢极欲的花花公子。要是我是男的,而且有他一半好看和一半有钱,我觉得都够我去变成一个20世纪欧洲最风流的男人了。但是,但是,Wittgenstein是一个有严重精神洁癖的人。这也是我想说明的关于他的美德之一。那么有钱的人,却没有被钱腐化。他老爸过世之后,他继承了他老爸的部分资产,一夜之间他成为欧洲最有钱的人之一,但是,他几乎马上就把他所有的钱送走了,一夜之间一贫如洗,连想去跟罗素见面都买不起车票。我迷上他的原因之一就是只要我想到世上曾经有这么一个人,我就产生各种各样难以言喻的美好的感觉。下面这段话是再下面那本书的Summary,不知道谁写的,我很喜欢,这几句:
The man who prized poetry over philosophy; a tormented soul who thrived on jokes and crime fiction; a man who inherited a fortune and gave it all away, who sought death in the trenches of World War I; a loner who inspired lifelong friendships.
Introducing Wittgenstein
John Heaton and Judy Groves ; edited by Richard Appignanesi.
Cambridge : Icon Books Ltd., 1999.
Summary:Ludwig Wittgenstein has captured the popular imagination as the modern Socrates. He is considered the master of enigmatic logic. He is a fascinating and attractive icon of modernism. His Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, a glacier of logic, and the somewhat friendlier Philosophical Investigations have baffled some and are considered too daunting by many. Here is an accessible guide to the man who prized poetry over philosophy; a tormented soul who thrived on jokes and crime fiction; a man who inherited a fortune and gave it all away, who sought death in the trenches of World War I; a loner who inspired lifelong friendships.
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