# 3.316 explained — Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

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

## What happens

Wittgenstein explains that the range of possible values for a propositional variable is fixed, and that this determination constitutes the variable itself.

## Themes in this chapter

### Logical Atomism

The determination of propositional variable values reflects the atomic structure of language and reality.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Wittgenstein

Author of the proposition

## Key lines

> What values the propositional variable can assume is determined. The determination of the values is the variable.

The range of possible substitutions for a propositional variable is fixed; the variable itself is defined by this fixed range.

_Clarifies that a variable is not an arbitrary placeholder but is defined by its permissible values._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tractatus_logico_philosophicus_se/chapters/3-316
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tractatus_logico_philosophicus_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tractatus_logico_philosophicus_se/chapters