Two Forms of Quietism: What can be Spoken About in Philosophy? [Dos formas de quietismo: ¿De qué se puede hablar en filosofía?]

In this paper I explore two possible ways of being quietist in philosophy and relate them to the work of Wittgenstein and McDowell. On the one hand, quietism could be understood as an imperative to remain quiet regarding what we value the most. The final aphorisms of the Tractatus seem to gesture in this direction. On the other hand, it could be seen as a refusal to produce philosophical theories regarding general and abstract issues such as meaning or thought. McDowell has recommended reading the Investigations under this light and has followed the advice in most of his work. I discuss some consequences of this approach to issues such as rule following, mental externalism and ethical particularlism and try to show that there is much exciting philosophical work to be done even after abandoning grand theoretical aspirations