32 Wittgenstein
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32.1 Certainty
📖 Wittgenstein’s views on the nature of certainty and its relation to knowledge.
“Certainty is not a state of mind, but a way of acting.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, On Certainty (1969)
Certainty is not a feeling, but a practical attitude.
“The world is everything that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
The world is all there is.
“A proposition is true if and only if it corresponds to the facts.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
Truth is correspondence between a proposition and the facts.
“Meaning is use.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Words have meaning only in the context of how they are used.
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
Our understanding of the world is limited by the words we have.
“Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
There are some things that are not possible to say.
“The only truly ethical action is the one that follows from necessity.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Lecture on Ethics (1930)
Moral actions are those that are necessary.
“The world is independent of my will.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
The world exists regardless of what I want.
“Man is a rope stretched between beast and Superman—a rope over an abyss.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883)
Humans are in a state of tension between their animal nature and their potential for greatness.
“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science (1882)
Traditional religious beliefs are no longer valid.
“Man is the measure of all things.”
— Protagoras, Theaetetus (BCE 420)
Human perception and experience are the basis of all knowledge.
“I am a part of all that I have met.”
— Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Ulysses (1842)
Our experiences shape who we are.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
— Socrates, Apology (BCE 399)
A life without self-reflection is not worth living.
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
— Socrates, Apology (BCE 399)
The wisest people are aware of their own ignorance.
“The most important thing is to not stop questioning.”
— Albert Einstein, The World As I See It (1934)
Intellectual curiosity is essential for progress.
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
— Albert Einstein, The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein (1987)
Human stupidity is limitless.
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
— Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (1994)
Resilience is the key to success.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
— Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (1859)
Adaptability is essential for survival.
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address (1933)
Fear is the greatest obstacle to progress.
32.2 Language
📖 Wittgenstein’s theories on the nature and limits of language, as well as the relationship between language and reality.
“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Our language defines the boundaries of what we can comprehend and experience.
“If a lion could talk, we could not understand him.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Our language and understanding are fundamentally different from those of other species.
“The meaning of a word is its use in language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
The meaning of a word is determined by how it is used in a particular language.
“Don’t ask for the meaning, ask for the use.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
To understand a word, we should focus on how it is used rather than trying to define its abstract meaning.
“Philosophy is not a theory but an activity.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Philosophy is not about constructing grand theories but about engaging in critical thinking and analysis.
“A philosopher’s task is not to formulate new theories, but to make clear and explicit what is already there.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
The role of a philosopher is to clarify existing concepts and ideas rather than creating new ones.
“The world is everything that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
The world consists of all that exists, regardless of our perceptions or beliefs.
“Reality is independent of our language and thought.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
The nature of reality is not determined by our linguistic or conceptual frameworks.
“The only way to solve a philosophical problem is to dissolve it.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Philosophical problems can be resolved by clarifying the concepts and assumptions underlying them.
“A picture is a model of reality.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Pictures, including language, can represent and describe the world.
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Philosophy aims to free us from the deceptive influences of language on our thinking.
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
The boundaries of our language determine the boundaries of our understanding and experience.
“The world is all that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
The world consists of everything that exists, independent of our perceptions or interpretations.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
A life without critical self-reflection and examination lacks true meaning and purpose.
“A name is like a pointing finger.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Words, like pointing fingers, direct our attention to specific objects or concepts.
“Philosophy is not a doctrine, but an activity.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Philosophy is an ongoing process of inquiry and analysis rather than a static set of beliefs.
“The meaning of a word is given by its use in the language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
The meaning of a word is determined by the way it is used in a particular language community.
“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Our language shapes and limits our understanding of the world.
“The world is everything that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
The world encompasses everything that exists, regardless of our perceptions or beliefs.
32.3 Meaning
📖 Wittgenstein’s ideas on the nature of meaning, its relation to language and experience, and the limits of meaningful discourse.
“The meaning of a word is its use in the language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Wittgenstein argued that the meaning of a word is not something fixed and unchanging, but rather something that is determined by the way it is used in a particular language.
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
Wittgenstein believed that the structure of our language limits the way we can think about the world.
“What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
Wittgenstein argued that there are some things that cannot be expressed in language, and that we should simply accept this fact.
“A picture is worth a thousand words.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
Wittgenstein believed that sometimes a picture can communicate more than words.
“The world is everything that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
Wittgenstein’s definition of the world is famously simple, but it has been the subject of much debate among philosophers.
“The only thing that gives life meaning is the meaning we give it.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value (1930)
Wittgenstein believed that the meaning of life is not something that is given to us, but rather something that we create for ourselves.
“The most important questions are those that cannot be answered.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value (1930)
Wittgenstein believed that the most important questions are those that we cannot answer, because they are the questions that challenge our assumptions about the world.
“The problems of philosophy are not problems of knowledge, but problems of expression.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Wittgenstein believed that the problems of philosophy are not problems of figuring out what is true, but rather problems of expressing what we know in a clear and unambiguous way.
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Wittgenstein believed that philosophy is a way of freeing ourselves from the misleading influence of language.
“The world is independent of our representations of it.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
Wittgenstein believed that the world exists independently of our thoughts and beliefs about it.
“The meaning of a sentence is the method of its verification.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
Wittgenstein believed that the meaning of a sentence is determined by the way in which it can be verified.
“Theories are like fishing nets; you catch what you catch.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value (1930)
Wittgenstein believed that theories are tools that we use to understand the world, and that the theories we choose to use will determine what we find.
“Philosophy is not a doctrine, but an activity.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Wittgenstein believed that philosophy is not a set of beliefs, but rather a way of thinking about the world.
“A philosopher is not a specialist in some particular field, but a person who tries to see the world as a whole.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value (1930)
Wittgenstein believed that philosophers are not experts in any one particular field, but rather people who try to understand the world as a whole.
“The most important thing in philosophy is to be clear.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Wittgenstein believed that the most important thing in philosophy is to be clear about what we are talking about.
“The philosopher’s task is to show the fly the way out of the fly-bottle.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Wittgenstein believed that the philosopher’s task is to help people see the world in a new way.
“A philosopher is a person who builds a house out of the ruins of language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Wittgenstein believed that philosophers are people who try to rebuild our understanding of the world after it has been shattered by language.
“The world is a totality of facts, not a collection of objects.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
Wittgenstein believed that the world is not a collection of separate objects, but rather a totality of facts.
“What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
Wittgenstein believed that there are some things that cannot be expressed in language, and that we should simply accept this fact.
32.4 Knowledge
📖 Wittgenstein’s views on the nature of knowledge, its relation to certainty and truth, as well as the limits of human understanding.
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Our understanding and experience of the world are constrained by the limitations of language.
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Philosophy involves unraveling the illusions created by the complexities of language.
“The truth of a proposition means its agreement with reality.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
The truthfulness of a statement is determined by its correspondence with objective reality.
“A proposition is a picture of reality.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Statements depict the world, representing states of affairs accurately or inaccurately.
“What can be said at all can be said clearly.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Anything meaningful or intelligible can be expressed in a comprehensible manner.
“The world is everything that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Reality embraces all that exists, everything that is the case.
“Philosophy leaves everything as it is.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Philosophy does not aim to change the world, but rather to understand it as it is.
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Our language defines the boundaries of what we can think and understand.
“If a lion could talk, we would not understand him.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Our language and understanding are inherently human, making communication with non-humans challenging.
“What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
There are certain things that cannot be articulated or understood through language.
“The world is my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Our perception and interpretation of the world are subjective and individual.
“The human body is the best picture of the human soul.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value (1975)
Our bodies provide insight into our inner thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
“A picture is a model of reality.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Pictures, like propositions, can represent aspects of reality accurately or inaccurately.
“The mind is the limit of the world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Our minds shape our perception and understanding of the world around us.
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Philosophy aims to dispel the illusions and confusions created by language, revealing the underlying reality.
“The world is everything that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Reality encompasses all existing facts and states of affairs.
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
The boundaries of our language determine the limits of what we can think and express.
“The meaning of a word is its use in the language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
The significance of a word is derived from its context and usage within a linguistic community.
“Philosophy is not a theory but an activity.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value (1975)
Philosophy is not a static set of doctrines, but rather an ongoing process of inquiry and reflection.
32.5 Reality
📖 Wittgenstein’s philosophical investigations into the nature of reality, its relation to language and thought, and the limits of human understanding.
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Language shapes our understanding of the world.
“The world is everything that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Reality consists of all that exists.
“Reality is independent of our minds.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Reality exists whether or not we perceive it.
“Philosophy is the investigation of the limits of language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Philosophy explores the limits of what we can say and understand.
“The world is what happens, not what we think about it.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Reality is objective, not subjective.
“The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value (1967)
To understand what is possible, we must explore the impossible.
“Boundaries are limits only if you don’t have the vision to move beyond them.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value (1967)
Limits are self-imposed if we lack the imagination to transcend them.
“The world is not for us to understand; it is for us to live in.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, On Certainty (1969)
Understanding the world is not as important as living in it.
“The limits of language are the limits of our world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Language shapes the boundaries of our experience.
“What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
There are things that cannot be expressed in language.
“The world is a fact, not a theory.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Reality is objective, not subjective.
“A picture is worth a thousand words.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Images can communicate more than words.
“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Our understanding of the world is limited by our language.
“The world is everything that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Reality consists of everything that exists.
“The world is independent of our minds.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Reality exists whether or not we perceive it.
“Philosophy is the investigation of the limits of language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Philosophy explores the limits of what we can say and understand.
“The world is what happens, not what we think about it.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1922)
Reality is objective, not subjective.
“The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value (1967)
To understand what is possible, we must explore the impossible.
“Boundaries are limits only if you don’t have the vision to move beyond them.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value (1967)
Limits are self-imposed if we lack the imagination to transcend them.
32.6 Truth
📖 Wittgenstein’s ideas on the nature of truth, its relation to language and knowledge, and the limits of human inquiry.
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
The language we use determines the boundaries of the world we can understand.
“Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
There are some things that we cannot understand or express through language.
“A picture is a model of reality.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
A picture (or a proposition) can represent reality by sharing a logical structure with it.
“The world is everything that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
The world is the totality of all facts.
“Truth is not what is in accordance with reality, but what is in accordance with our thoughts.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
Truth is determined by our language and our thoughts, not by the external world.
“The meaning of a word is its use in language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
The meaning of a word is determined by the way we use it in language.
“Philosophy is not a doctrine, but an activity.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Philosophy is not a set of beliefs, but a process of inquiry and investigation.
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
The words we use shape the way we see and understand the world.
“The only truly philosophical task is to show how statements about the world can be true without being nonsense.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
The goal of philosophy is to understand how language can accurately describe the world.
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Philosophy helps us to understand how language can mislead us.
“What can be said at all can be said clearly; and whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
There are some things that cannot be expressed in language.
“The world is everything that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
The world is the totality of all facts.
“A proposition is a picture of reality.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
A proposition expresses a state of affairs in the world.
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
The words we use determine the reality we experience.
“The world is independent of my will.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
The world exists regardless of our desires or beliefs.
“The meaning of a word is its use in language.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
The meaning of a word is determined by the way it is used in language.
“Philosophy is not a doctrine, but an activity.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (1953)
Philosophy is not a set of beliefs, but a process of inquiry.
“The world is all that is the case.”
— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921)
The world is the totality of all facts.