The quote and comments raise two questions: 1) What was Wittgenstein chastising Malcolm for? and 2) Were their opinions rational?
On the first, I don’t think there’s enough information to tell. Was Wittgenstein protesting that Malcolm drew too close a connection between national character and state conduct or that Malcolm was victim of an idealized view of British national character? I think Malcolm was “primitive” for both reasons, and it seems fairly plausible that Wittgenstein might have had both in mind.
But there’s a third form of primitiveness in Malcolm’s remark, and Wittgenstein appears to have shared Malcolm’s premise—although that’s not completely clear. It is a cached-belief bias: that the assassination of any foreign head of state is immoral. Such formalism is irrational when considering a radically new development (the rise of a Nazi Germany and the degree of its dependence on its fuhrer). Only “primitive” people would assume that “decent” people necessarily eschew assassination, regardless of the despot’s international role.
As I think about it, I can’t dismiss that this aspect might have been what offended Wittgenstein, who does not appear to have been completely honest; to my ear, he sounds personally offended. What offended him, we might guess, is that Malcolm was insinuating that Wittgenstein’s approval of such an endeavor was indecent. (A point on which Wittgenstein was, I think, sensitive and which would offend most people when directed toward them.)
Only “primitive” people would assume that “decent” people necessarily eschew assassination, regardless of the despot’s international role.
Or you know deontologists and some virtue ethicists.
As I think about it, I can’t dismiss that this aspect might have been what offended Wittgenstein, who does not appear to have been completely honest; to my ear, he sounds personally offended. What offended him, we might guess, is that Malcolm was insinuating that Wittgenstein’s approval of such an endeavor was indecent. (A point on which Wittgenstein was, I think, sensitive and which would offend most people when directed toward them.)
I think you are seriously over-thinking that third form, and that is not what is intended at all; you can be mortally wounded that your philosophy has completely failed to teach someone a little critical thinking about how licit it is to argue an assassination attempt did not occur because of ‘national character’ without any regard to whether you personally approve of assassination or not. (I doubt Wittgenstein was any fan of the Nazis, what with being a secular Jew dispossessed by them and living in England.)
It is a cached-belief bias: that the assassination of any foreign head of state is immoral. Such formalism is irrational when considering a radically new development.
There nothing radically new about getting heads of state in Europe that want to wage wars. European’s in that time aren’t like modern American’s who have no concept of honor and no respect for international law. European’s fought their wars according to a honor codex that allow certain form of violence but forbids other forms.
Given the morality of the time it is indecent to violate the laws of war and go and assassinate a foreign head of state.
Neither side of WWII fully followed international law and principles of honorable behavior at all times but when they didn’t followed those principles they still were indecent.
You shouldn’t forget the fact that Germany started WWI because of an assassination of a head of state by a government that was allied with Germany. That assassination wasn’t done by France of Great Britain. Even when the British still considered Germany to be responsible for WWI they didn’t thought to highly of that assassination.
The quote and comments raise two questions: 1) What was Wittgenstein chastising Malcolm for? and 2) Were their opinions rational?
On the first, I don’t think there’s enough information to tell. Was Wittgenstein protesting that Malcolm drew too close a connection between national character and state conduct or that Malcolm was victim of an idealized view of British national character? I think Malcolm was “primitive” for both reasons, and it seems fairly plausible that Wittgenstein might have had both in mind.
But there’s a third form of primitiveness in Malcolm’s remark, and Wittgenstein appears to have shared Malcolm’s premise—although that’s not completely clear. It is a cached-belief bias: that the assassination of any foreign head of state is immoral. Such formalism is irrational when considering a radically new development (the rise of a Nazi Germany and the degree of its dependence on its fuhrer). Only “primitive” people would assume that “decent” people necessarily eschew assassination, regardless of the despot’s international role.
As I think about it, I can’t dismiss that this aspect might have been what offended Wittgenstein, who does not appear to have been completely honest; to my ear, he sounds personally offended. What offended him, we might guess, is that Malcolm was insinuating that Wittgenstein’s approval of such an endeavor was indecent. (A point on which Wittgenstein was, I think, sensitive and which would offend most people when directed toward them.)
Or you know deontologists and some virtue ethicists.
Seems plausible actually.
They would still have to be ‘primitive’ deontologists and virtue ethicists.
I suppose.
I think you are seriously over-thinking that third form, and that is not what is intended at all; you can be mortally wounded that your philosophy has completely failed to teach someone a little critical thinking about how licit it is to argue an assassination attempt did not occur because of ‘national character’ without any regard to whether you personally approve of assassination or not. (I doubt Wittgenstein was any fan of the Nazis, what with being a secular Jew dispossessed by them and living in England.)
There nothing radically new about getting heads of state in Europe that want to wage wars. European’s in that time aren’t like modern American’s who have no concept of honor and no respect for international law. European’s fought their wars according to a honor codex that allow certain form of violence but forbids other forms.
Given the morality of the time it is indecent to violate the laws of war and go and assassinate a foreign head of state. Neither side of WWII fully followed international law and principles of honorable behavior at all times but when they didn’t followed those principles they still were indecent.
You shouldn’t forget the fact that Germany started WWI because of an assassination of a head of state by a government that was allied with Germany. That assassination wasn’t done by France of Great Britain. Even when the British still considered Germany to be responsible for WWI they didn’t thought to highly of that assassination.