In 1946, Karl Popper, newly arrived in the UK, was invited to talk to the Cambridge Moral Science Club and asked to bring a philosophical ‘puzzle’. But Popper didn’t believe in puzzles. He believed in problems. He entitled his talk, ‘Are there philosophical problems?’. Ludwig Wittgenstein was the chair of the Moral Science Club, and the meeting – on October 25th – was the only occasion the two Viennese-born philosophers ever met. Did Wittgenstein get so annoyed that he waved a fireside poker at Popper? Did Popper lie about the episode? And why was the atmosphere so fierce? Twenty-five years ago, David Edmonds co-wrote Wittgenstein’s Poker (with John Eidinow). It focused on the Wittgenstein-Popper 10-minute interaction – and became an unlikely best-seller. In this talk, David revisits the poker episode; would he, were he writing today, reach the same verdict?
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