In the Tractatus-Logico-Philosophicus, the book where the young Wittgenstein claimed to solve all the problems of philosophy, he includes the following elliptical remark:
''My propositions are elucidatory in this way: he who understands me finally recognizes them as senseless, when he has climbed out through them, on them, over them. (He must so to speak throw away the ladder, after he has climbed up on it.) (6.54)''
Not hard to see how that led to this cartoon
The Tractatus is one of my least favourite philosophical texts, mainly because I don't have a particularly ''logical'' mind: however I remain intrigued by Wittgenstein, not only his later works, but the man himself. Not only is he also quoted as saying that 'A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes,' a motto I have modestly decided to adopt for Being & Tim (!) but also, 'I don't know why we are here, but I'm pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves'!!! What a guy! (Those quotes and more can be found here)
I bet he did throw like a girl though.
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