Wittgenstein’s Philosophy: Language, Meaning, and Reality
The Problem of Knowledge: Epistemology
Wittgenstein sought to understand the limits of meaningful language and certain knowledge. He believed that philosophy’s attempts to argue everything without proving anything necessitated defining the boundaries of language and its relationship to reality and human thought.
First Phase (Tractatus)
In his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Wittgenstein championed the principle of isomorphism: a logical relationship between reality and language that allows us to talk about the world. The logical structure of language corresponds to the logical form of the world, setting the limits of rational knowledge. Linguistic propositions are meaningful when this isomorphism applies to the things they describe in the world. Meaningfulness, however, doesn’t equate to truth. A proposition is true only when its expression matches the world; if the representation exists, it’s true, otherwise, false.
Language is meaningful only when isomorphism is applicable. True propositions constitute the content of science (object-name correspondence, proposition-world correspondence). Propositions where isomorphism doesn’t apply are pseudo-propositions.
There are two types of pseudo-propositions:
- Logical and mathematical pseudo-propositions: Meaningless because they don’t refer to the world, yet useful for certain processes.
- Philosophical pseudo-propositions: Aiming to transcend experience, they are nonsensical. Philosophical questions are unanswerable, and philosophy’s true task is clarifying what can be known. This philosophy critiques language and analyzes the limits of knowledge.
Second Phase (Philosophical Investigations)
Wittgenstein later abandoned isomorphism in favor of language games and the concept of use. Meaning resides in language’s use, a game shared between speaker and listener. The meaning of language is determined by its use, which is, in turn, determined by the established language game (e.g., marshaling, speculating, describing, appreciating beauty). The precision of language is determined by the rules governing its specific use within each game. Breaking these rules risks miscommunication.
A language game is a set of rules governing a particular use of language. Each situation and game has its own rules, inapplicable to other games. These uses arise from specific situations and prior traditions.
Wittgenstein also addresses the problem of philosophy. Philosophy’s fascination stems from its challenge to the limits of language, attempting to address problems beyond our comprehension. Its problem lies in the misuse of language. Philosophy should clarify conceptual terms to prevent misuse. Its function is to uncover and elucidate language’s structures, clarifying rules and determining correct usage.
The Problem of Man and the Moral: Anthropology and Ethics
Ethics and aesthetics transcend reality. Aesthetics imbues objects with artistic meaning, while ethics examines subjects as moral beings, going beyond physical reality. Both concern the meaning of things, a characteristically human concern.
Philosophy’s search for life’s meaning, the problem of death and eternal life, is inexpressible due to lack of experience. Contemplating these leads to the mystical, which, being a feeling, is inexpressible and undiscussable. Yet, the mystical is characteristically human and unavoidable.
The Problem of Reality: Metaphysics
In the Tractatus, Wittgenstein part of a structure of reality. Reality is everything logically possible. El Mundo, smaller would be the set of facts that really exists within all possibilities of what could exist. Facts would be the currently existing state of affairs, ie given the relationship between objects or things and that is taking place today. Finally, things would be the individual objects existing and fixed.