Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter
3.1432 explained
Wittgenstein distinguishes between the proposition as a complex sign and the fact that the constituent signs stand in a certain relation, which is what actually depicts the state of affairs.
What happens
Wittgenstein distinguishes between the proposition as a complex sign and the fact that the constituent signs stand in a certain relation, which is what actually depicts the state of affairs.
Themes in this chapter
Picture Theory of Language
The proposition's structure mirrors the structure of the fact it represents, as shown by the relation between signs.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Wittgenstein
Author of the Tractatus, presenting the picture theory of language.
Key passages
“We must not say, “The complex sign ‘ a R b ’ says ‘ a stands in relation R to b ’ ”; but we must say, “ That ‘ a ’ stands in a certain relation to ‘ b ’ says that a R b ”.”
Do not claim that the composite symbol 'a R b' asserts that a is related to b by R. Instead, the fact that the symbol 'a' is placed in a specific relation to the symbol 'b' is what conveys that a is related to b.
Wittgenstein emphasizes that the proposition's depicting power lies in the actual configuration of its parts, not in the mere concatenation of names.