Questions tagged [wittgenstein]
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (1889 – 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher, professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge (1939-1947). He worked in foundations of mathematics and on mathematical logic, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He played a central, if controversial, role in 20th-century analytic philosophy.
56
questions
14
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Was Wittgenstein anticipating Gödel?
The Tractatus 6.123:
6.123 Clearly the laws of logic cannot in their turn be subject to laws of logic. (There is not, as Russell thought, a special law of contradiction for each 'type'; one law is ...
- 27.1k
6
votes
1
answer
534
views
Did Wittgenstein consider the possibility of a private language with public content?
Wittgenstein criticized the idea that there could be a meaningful language that was only known in principle by one person.
His insights have often been used to disregard the idea of private mental ...
- 745
5
votes
2
answers
587
views
What did Wittgenstein (mean to) achieve in the Tractatus?
I read the Tractatus about a decade ago, and was impressed, both by it and I suppose myself! But suddenly I'm seriously wondering what the book has or could achieve. Not so much how it changed ...
user6917
9
votes
2
answers
875
views
How does Russell's argument for identity refute that of Wittgenstein's?
In My Philosophical Development Russell wrote,
I come next to what Wittgenstein had to say about identity, which has an importance that may not be obvious at once. To explain this theory, I must ...
user13627
7
votes
2
answers
585
views
Is it possible to use Wittgenstein's family resemblance approach to universals to separate high art from commercial art?
In a previous post, I asked whether it is possible to objectively compare the quality and validity of different pieces and forms of art. In the responses I got the overall response is that there is no ...
- 27.1k
5
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Exactly what was Wittgenstein's argument against identity?
Roughly Speaking: to say of two things that they are identical is nonsense, and to say of one thing that it is identical with itself is to say nothing. (Tractatus, 5.5302 and 5.5303)
Like Russell ...
- 2,178
8
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Do Wittgenstein and Quine give the same criticisms of semantics?
What is the connection between the criticisms offered by Wittgenstein and Quine of meaning and language? Are both philosophers generally criticizing the same semantic theories with similar arguments, ...
- 309
7
votes
1
answer
658
views
What is the role of sensations in Wittgenstein's private language argument?
In Philosophical Investigations 244-254, before talking about private signs, Wittgenstein is talking about sensations.
He seems to divide this section into addressing in what way words refer to ...
- 745
5
votes
2
answers
651
views
What does Wittgenstein mean when he says "there are no numbers in logic"?
From the Tractatus:
5.453 All numbers in logic stand in need of justification. Or rather, it must become evident that there are no numbers in logic. There are
no pre-eminent numbers.
What does ...
- 53
5
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Making 'sense' of Wittgenstein's senselessness / nonsense distinction in the Tractatus
For this question I'm just considering Wittgenstein's theory at the time of the Tractatus.
As far as I know, for Wittgenstein:
Meaning - The object denoted by a word (i.e. referent).
Sense - The ...
- 99
1
vote
2
answers
920
views
Wittgenstein's solipsist, from Tractatus?
According to the early Wittgenstein of the Tractatus, the solipsist is one and one and the same with the world. He then makes the claim that solipsism coincides with realism.
5.64, Wittgenstein ...
- 305
20
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Should Wittgenstein be given some credit for Godel's incompleteness theorem?
Is there a connection between Wittgenstein's argument against the "Theory of Types" and the proof of Godel's Incompleteness Theorem? Being only semi-knowledgeable, I will draw the connection of which ...
- 511
14
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is "propositions of logic are tautologies" (Wittgenstein) literal or mystical?
At 6.1 in the Tractatus, Wittgenstein says, "The propositions of logic are tautologies."
When he says this, is he referring to the fact that the axioms of propositional logic as presented, for ...
- 263
11
votes
4
answers
12k
views
If "the limits of my language are the limits of my world", then how can it be that "what can be shown, cannot be said"?
I'm trying to understand Wittgenstein, but two of his most oft quoted statements seem to me to be implying contradicting things. I understand that later Wittgenstein did refute a lot of his earlier ...
- 148
9
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Defenses of Descartes's rationality in regards to "cogito" fallacy?
What philosophers and in what writings, if any, have attempted to explain or defend Descartes's rationalism in respect to the "cogito ergo sum" fallacy pointed out by philosophers like Russell, and ...
- 91
8
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How do we know how to follow a rule?
This question seems to either be at the forefront or the background of countless philosophical enquiries. Much has been written on Wittgenstein's rule paradox (e.g. Kirke's Wittgenstein: On Rules and ...
- 1,224
7
votes
9
answers
5k
views
Do mainstream philosophers believe that Wittgenstein "solved" philosophy?
After finishing his first work, Wittgenstein left philosophy, thinking that he "solved" all philosophical problems. He is now considered one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century, if ...
- 233
6
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Why does Wittgenstein say Schopenhauer has a crude mind?
"One could call Schopenhauer an altogether crude mind. I.e., he does have refinement, but at a certain level this suddenly comes to an
end & he is as crude as the crudest. Where real depth ...
- 383
5
votes
5
answers
2k
views
How long is the standard meter?
In the Philosophical Investigations §50, Wittgenstein writes:
There is one thing of which one can say neither that it is one
metre long, nor that it is not one metre long, and that is the ...
- 4,531
5
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Tractatus 3.333 and Russell's paradox
Can anyone explain to a non-logician how Tractatus 3.333 refutes (or fails to refute) Russell's Paradox? Please explain his use of symbols!
- 99
1
vote
1
answer
182
views
What does bedeutung refer to in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus?
Given that the literal translation of the german word bedeutung is "sense", what does it refer to in the semantics of the tractarian Wittgenstein, among these options?
the meaning of the subatomic ...
- 883
16
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What are some ways to read Wittgenstein's Tractatus other than resolute/irresolute?
There are, at present, two dominant ways to read Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (TLP). One is called the irresolute reading, the other the resolute reading.
The irresolute reading ...
- 3,366
13
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Does Wittgenstein's Tractatus establish serious bounds for discussions of the supernatural from a modern point of view?
In today's mathematics, we have many variants of logic (propositional, first order, higher order, fuzzy logic, etc.). These are all self-consistent formal systems that are based on some set of axioms.
...
- 1,133
10
votes
3
answers
1k
views
On Wittgenstein's family resemblance and machine learning
Wittgenstein proposed in his later philosophy the concept of family resemblance to describe groups which cannot be defined by a single (or simple set) of common features but instead display (from the ...
- 27.1k
10
votes
3
answers
4k
views
What did Wittgenstein mean by saying that the belief in the causal nexus is a superstition?
In the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Wittenstein says:
5.1361
The events of the future cannot be inferred from those of the present.
Superstition is the belief in the causal nexus.
I'm ...
- 1,424
8
votes
1
answer
222
views
One or two Wittgensteins?
It is common opinion that Wittgenstein has two main different periods which are best exemplified by the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and the Philosophical Investigations and that these periods are ...
- 183
7
votes
3
answers
363
views
Why is private language an incoherent idea?
The fact that I have no problem imagining a private language probably implies that I don't understand the notion of private language. My understanding is private language is a language understandable ...
- 585
7
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Why does Wittgenstein say that the world is made of facts, and not things?
Proposition 1.1 of the Tractatus says:
The world is the totality of facts, not of things.
Does this mean that he regards the world being that of propositions whose truth can be determined - that ...
6
votes
1
answer
408
views
How does Wittgenstein's argument against recognizing private sensations work?
Wittgenstein writes in his Philosophical Investigations in paragraph 270:
Let us imagine a use for the entry of the sign "S" in my diary. I discover that whenever I have a particular sensation a ...
- 181
6
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What criticisms of Wittgenstein's philosophy of language have been offered?
In a 2003 obituary, Anna Sherrat described one of my many philosophy heroes, Donald Davidson, as “one of the greatest American philosophers.” She did an excellent job of summarizing one of the ...
- 369
5
votes
2
answers
313
views
Where did Carnap express his disagreement with Wittgenstein's Tractatus?
I read the following in G. E. M. Anscombe's description of the consequences of Wittgenstein's picture theory of language: (page 82)
Carnap strongly objected to Wittgenstein's doctrine with its ...
- 19.2k
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What is the difference between Aristotle's theory of categories and Russell's theory of types?
A partial answer might come through an introduction. Well, we know that Russell's efforts to understand the contradictory appearance of the class of all classes not members of themselves (a notion ...
4
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Why does Wittgenstein think there are no genuine philosophical questions?
According to the movie I didn't get the part:
https://youtu.be/r0cN_bpLrxk?t=201
"there are linguistic, ethical, logistic and religious but there are no genuine philosophical problems [...] ...
- 129
4
votes
3
answers
3k
views
How much background do I need to read the book: Tractatus logico-philosophicus?
Upon careful consideration of the literature I want to read in the following months, I have stumbled into a particular book which is called: Tractatus logico-philosophicus, written by brilliand author ...
- 103
4
votes
2
answers
378
views
Given Wittgenstein's characterisation of language as essentially public, can he characterise what form thinking takes?
According to Wittgenstein, language is an essentially public activity between minds; and language is structured by a grammar so that this communication can indeed occur. I think, the notion of ...
4
votes
1
answer
591
views
What is the logic in the Tractatus-Logico Philosophicus in modern terms?
In the SEP entry on Wittgenstein, the description of the logic utilised in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus to describe his logical atomism appears to be at least formally classical propositional ...
3
votes
1
answer
378
views
Wittgenstein on names and paradigms [closed]
This is in a way a followup to the question on Wittgenstein's standard metre of Paris, which is part of his discussion on names in language.
In philosophical investigations §55, Wittgenstein says:
...
- 4,531
3
votes
1
answer
174
views
Why "philosophy never ends" for the tractarian Wittgenstein?
In the Prototractatus Wittgenstein wrote an additional section (called 6.55) which is seen as a possible third solution to the matter of building a perfect system of logic.
This conclusion was ...
- 883
3
votes
3
answers
373
views
The Picture Theory of Meaning
I'm not quite clear as to exactly how how Wittgenstein concludes that metaphysical/non-phenomenal talk is meaningless in his Tractatus. Doesn't a statement like, "God exists" and its propositional ...
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Does Wittgensteins own solution to Russells Paradox actually work?
In the Tractatus, Wittgenstein attempts a solution of Russells paradox
3.333 A function cannot be its own argument, because the functional sign already contains the prototype of its own argument and ...
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Why the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus was/is so groundbreaking?
I am reading the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (of L. Wittgenstein) these days along with The Cambridge Companion to Wittgenstein.
The Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is a very difficult work to read ...
- 158
3
votes
4
answers
261
views
Wittgenstein maintains language is public, can this be correct?
I come into the world where other beings are using language. I learn this.
Those beings have come into the world where other beings are using language. They learn it.
Those other beings come into ...
3
votes
4
answers
761
views
What book recommendations for learning Hegel and Wittgenstein?
I'm currently interested in Hegel's Dialectic and Wittgenstein works.
I'm mostly looking for things related to logic, language and the foundation of mathematics.
What do you think I should read from ...
- 878
2
votes
1
answer
217
views
What is the subject of Tractatus by Wittgenstein?
Is Tractatus about the Philosophy of language or Philosophy of logic. I was hearing John Searle's lecture and he said there are two strands in Philosophy of language :-
1. Logical theory of language
2....
2
votes
1
answer
259
views
Questions about the relationship between Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations and Tractatus
I've read the Tractatus and am now working my way through Investigations, and I have a few questions about their relationship to one another. Obviously I've heard that the latter is critical of the ...
- 141
2
votes
3
answers
425
views
Are there many minds or is there only one?
"If a lion could speak, we cannot understand it" - Ludwig Wittgenstein
Machines vs Chaos of Human Language
Mathematical Consensus
Is a proof still valid if only the author understands it?
...
- 2,387
2
votes
1
answer
373
views
Wittgenstein's opinion that language must be public: How was this innovative and not already obvious?
Source: p 206, A Little History of Philosophy (2011 ed; not 2012 Reprint ed.) by Nigel Warburton PhD in Philosophy.
It may seem obvious to you that when you are in pain and
you speak about it ...
user8572
1
vote
3
answers
530
views
Why should one read the Tracatus? [closed]
In the introduction to the Tractatus, Russell writes:
In order to understand Mr Wittgenstein’s book, it is necessary to realize
what is the problem with which he is concerned. In the part of his
...
1
vote
1
answer
448
views
Wittgenstein criticizes Coffey's work 'The Science of Logic' in its assumption that every proposition requires a subject and a predicate. Why?
Why does Wittgenstein believe there can be propositions that lack a subject or predicate? What examples does Wittgenstein give in support of this belief?
- 541
1
vote
1
answer
557
views
What is the relationship between what can be said and what cannot be said?
This is looking at Wittgenstein's Tractatus and his Philosophical Investigations. How does one stand in the face of this tension? How exactly do both books have an idea of what cannot be spoken of?
- 19