Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter
6.45 explained
Wittgenstein describes the mystical feeling as the contemplation of the world as a limited whole, sub specie aeterni.
What happens
Wittgenstein describes the mystical feeling as the contemplation of the world as a limited whole, sub specie aeterni.
Themes in this chapter
Ethics and the Mystical
This proposition directly defines the mystical feeling as the contemplation of the world as a limited whole, a key aspect of the ethical and mystical dimension of the Tractatus.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Wittgenstein
Author of the proposition, presenting the mystical feeling as the contemplation of the world as a limited whole.
Key passages
“The contemplation of the world sub specie aeterni is its contemplation as a limited whole.”
Viewing the world from an eternal perspective means seeing it as a bounded totality.
Clarifies the meaning of sub specie aeterni in Wittgenstein's context.
“The feeling that the world is a limited whole is the mystical feeling.”
The mystical feeling is the sense that the world is a finite, complete whole.
Identifies the mystical feeling with the perception of the world's limits.