Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter
4.1251 explained
Wittgenstein settles the dispute over whether all relations are internal or external by clarifying the nature of propositions and their logical form.
What happens
Wittgenstein settles the dispute over whether all relations are internal or external by clarifying the nature of propositions and their logical form.
Themes in this chapter
Logical Atomism
The proposition addresses the nature of relations, a key concern in logical atomism's analysis of facts.
Critique of Traditional Philosophy
Wittgenstein resolves a traditional philosophical dispute by clarifying the logical structure of language.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Wittgenstein
Author of the proposition settling the dispute about internal and external relations.
Key passages
“Now this settles the disputed question “whether all relations are internal or external.””
This proposition resolves the longstanding debate about whether every relation is internal or external to its relata.
Wittgenstein claims that his logical analysis definitively answers this metaphysical question.