Flann O’Brien, Wittgenstein, and the Idling of Language

This article examines unrecognized points of conceptual and stylistic convergence between the work of Flann O’Brien and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Though operating in quite different generic and discursive modes, both writers reject broad metaphysical systems, idealized models of language, skepticism, and the impulse to theorize. As correctives to these tendencies, O’Brien and Wittgenstein adopt similar techniques to train their readers’ attention on the zones of overlap in linguistic usage where confusion tends to arise. Finally, this comparison with O’Brien casts new light on Wittgenstein’s later work as it illuminates satirical and ironizing styles that have perhaps not been fully appreciated.