# 3.1432 explained — Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

> Chapter companion for Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Wittgenstein

Author of the Tractatus, presenting the picture theory of language.

## Key lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tractatus_logico_philosophicus_se/chapters/3-1432
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