TRANSLATING A LOVE LETTER AS IF IT WERE A POEM: PHILOSOPHICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL REMARKS ON WITTGENSTEIN’S MAXIM «DIE DARSTELLUNG DER PHILOSOPHIE KANN NUR GEDICHTET WERDEN» AND ITS APPLICATION TO HIS CORRESPONDENCE WITH BEN RICHARDS

Abstract

This text undertakes a philosophical-translational exploration of Wittgenstein’s well-known maxim, «Die Darstellung der Philosophie kann nur gedichtet werden», which seems to link philosophy and poetry and has generated so much disagreement. The aim is to understand this maxim and apply it to the translation of the correspondence between Wittgenstein and his partner towards the end of his life, Ben Richards. The conclusion is that Wittgenstein’s invitation for philosophy to resemble poetry, and indeed great literature and even other arts, does not mean that he did not acknowledge other possible approaches to philosophy, even though he certainly did not consider them relevant or useful for achieving the peace of mind he longed for and which he considered the goal of his philosophical practice.

KEYWORDS: Philosophy, letters, literature, poetry, Richards, Wittgenstein.