Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter
4.115 explained
This proposition asserts that the method of philosophy is to delimit the sayable, thereby indicating the unsayable by showing what can be said clearly.
What happens
This proposition asserts that the method of philosophy is to delimit the sayable, thereby indicating the unsayable by showing what can be said clearly.
Themes in this chapter
Limits of Language and Thought
The proposition directly addresses the boundary between what can be said and what can only be shown.
Nonsense and Meaning
By clearly displaying the speakable, the unspeakable is indicated, highlighting the distinction between meaningful propositions and nonsense.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Wittgenstein
Author of the Tractatus, presenting the method of philosophy as a delimitation of language.
Key passages
“It will mean the unspeakable by clearly displaying the speakable.”
Philosophy points to what cannot be put into words by rigorously clarifying what can be expressed.
This encapsulates the Tractatus's view that the unsayable is shown through the clear articulation of the sayable.