Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter
4.3 explained
This chapter defines truth-possibilities of elementary propositions as the possibilities of existence and non-existence of atomic facts, linking logical atomism to the structure of reality.
What happens
This chapter defines truth-possibilities of elementary propositions as the possibilities of existence and non-existence of atomic facts, linking logical atomism to the structure of reality.
Themes in this chapter
Logical Atomism
The chapter directly addresses the correspondence between elementary propositions and atomic facts, a core tenet of logical atomism.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Wittgenstein
Author of the Tractatus, presenting the logical relationship between elementary propositions and atomic facts.
Key passages
“The truth-possibilities of the elementary propositions mean the possibilities of the existence and nonexistence of the atomic facts.”
The possible truth values of basic propositions correspond to whether the simplest facts in reality do or do not occur.
This establishes the fundamental link between language and reality in Wittgenstein's picture theory.