All chapters

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter

3.21 explained

The configuration of simple signs in a proposition corresponds to the configuration of objects in the state of affairs.

What happens

The configuration of simple signs in a proposition corresponds to the configuration of objects in the state of affairs.

Themes in this chapter

  • Picture Theory of Language

    The correspondence between sign configuration and object configuration illustrates the picture theory.

  • Logical Atomism

    Simple signs correspond to simple objects, reflecting the atomistic structure of reality.

Characters to notice

Key passages

  • To the configuration of the simple signs in the propositional sign corresponds the configuration of the objects in the state of affairs.

    The arrangement of basic symbols in a proposition mirrors the arrangement of basic objects in the situation it describes.

    This establishes the structural isomorphism between language and reality.