Wittgenstein’s Philosophy: Logic and Language Games

Tractatus: Propositions, Sense, and Pseudo-Propositions

A proposition must have the same logical form that represents the atomic fact; this logical form is the sense that every proposition must have. Propositions that do not allow this type of analysis are called pseudo-propositions if they do not refer to anything that can happen in this world. Among these, we find philosophical propositions, which do not relate to the world, have no meaning, and are used by metaphysics in an impossible attempt to describe the logical form of the world. True propositions are empirical facts describing possibilities about the world. However, the sense of a proposition is independent of its truth, so we can refer to true statements when describing a fact. Describing facts is part of probability. Wittgenstein believed that there are necessarily true propositions called tautologies, since their negation would be contradictory, while meaningless pseudo-propositions attempt to talk about what one cannot speak of.

Philosophical Investigations: Uses and Language Games

Wittgenstein stated that ordinary language is vague and imprecise, yet its propositions serve to communicate. He emphasized the advantages of common language: a system that considers the future and the direction given to fulfill a role in the lives of people. This language possesses its own logic—not necessarily true or false—and performs various functions, such as:

• Voice commands
• Interrogation
• Communication

He sought the rules of language use, rather than just logic, and argued that words are not understandable without the context of human activity. Words, along with the activities linked to them, are what he called language games. The meaning of a proposition is determined by the context in which it is used; a single term may have thousands of meanings across different language games. These are as numerous as life experiences and are dependent on psychological, social, and cultural contexts. Society supports these laws unanimously, acknowledging that language serves primarily to communicate.