Render unto logic the things that are logical
Render unto logic the things that are logical
There are, indeed, things that cannot be put into words. They make themselves manifest. They are what is mystical.
Ludwig Wittgenstein — 20th-century logician/philosopher
The Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (links to Amazon) is one of the seminal works of logic and one of the most important works of philosophy of the 20th century. It is quite clear, although very dense. It’s composed of a series of numbered statements, all of which lead up to the famous conclusion: Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.
Unfortunately, most people have no idea how he gets to that conclusion, and thus it just sounds like generally good advice. He gets there by distinguishing between what aspects of things are legitimate targets for logical analysis and which are not. Those aspects of life which are not suitable for logic he refers to as “the mystical.” We could say, then, that Wittgenstein is telling us to “Render therefore unto logic the things which are logical, and unto mysticism the things that are mystical."