Meditating with Wittgenstein: Constructing and Deconstructing the Language Games of Masculinity

Abstract

Through the exampleExamples of ideological masculinityMasculinity , this chapter examines pain language gamesPain language games to reveal some of the ways in which the capacity for empathyEmpathy in which they are grounded is shaped by those games. WittgensteinWittgenstein and the Buddhist philosopher NagarjunaNagarjuna are in philosophical agreement about the natureNature of the human form of life. It is argued that “the change in the way people live” that WittgensteinWittgenstein calls for can be most fully achieved through the use of MindfulnessMindfulness meditation practicePractice which incorporates philosophical study. David Forbes’ work with high school boys illustrates the power of this practicePractice .