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Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter

4.114 explained

The proposition must set a boundary to thought by delineating the thinkable, thereby also marking the unthinkable from within.

What happens

The proposition must set a boundary to thought by delineating the thinkable, thereby also marking the unthinkable from within.

Themes in this chapter

  • Limits of Language and Thought

    The proposition functions to limit the thinkable and thus define the unthinkable.

Characters to notice

Key passages

  • It should limit the thinkable and thereby the unthinkable. It should limit the unthinkable from within through the thinkable.

    The proposition must draw a boundary around what can be thought, and in doing so, it also defines what cannot be thought, by approaching the unthinkable from the side of the thinkable.

    Clarifies the role of the proposition in demarcating the limits of thought.