What has to be overcome is not difficulty of the intellect but of the will. [Nicht eine Schwierigkeit des Verstandes, sondern des Willens ist zu überwinden.]" - Meaning and context.">
Ch. 9 : Philosophy (chapters 86–93 of the so called Big Typescript), p. 161
• Corresponding to TS 213, Kapitel 86

What makes a subject difficult to understand — if it is significant, important — is not that some special instruction about abstruse things is necessary to understand it. Rather it is the contrast between the understanding of the subject and what most people want to see. Because of this the very things that are most obvious can become the most difficult to understand. What has to be overcome is not difficulty of the intellect but of the will. [Nicht eine Schwierigkeit des Verstandes, sondern des Willens ist zu überwinden.]

— Ludwig Wittgenstein

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "What makes a subject difficult to understand — if it is significant, important — is not that some special instruction about abstruse things is necessary to understand it. Rather it is the contrast between the understanding of the subject and what most people want to see. Because of this the very things that are most obvious can become the most difficult to understand. What has to be overcome is not difficulty of the intellect but of the will. [Nicht eine Schwierigkeit des Verstandes, sondern des Willens ist zu überwinden.]" in the context of "Ch. 9 : Philosophy (chapters 86–93 of the so called Big Typescript), p. 161
• Corresponding to TS 213, Kapitel 86" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Ludwig Wittgenstein" (Quotes, 1930s-1951, Philosophical Occasions 1912-1951 (1993): Edited by James Carl Klagge and Alfred Nordmann) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Ludwig Wittgenstein

About Ludwig Wittgenstein

Ludwig Wittgenstein (26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-born philosopher who spent much of his life in England.