# 5.5521 explained — Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

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

## What happens

This aphorism questions the applicability of logic to the world, suggesting that logic's existence is contingent upon the world's existence; without a world, logic would have no application.

## Themes in this chapter

### Logic and Tautology

Explores the necessary connection between logic and the existence of the world, questioning whether logic would be possible without a world.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Wittgenstein

Author of the aphorism, posing a rhetorical question about the relationship between logic and the world.

## Key lines

> And if this were not the case, how could we apply logic? We could say: if there were a logic, even if there were no world, how then could there be a logic, since there is a world?

If logic were not inherently tied to the world, it would be impossible to apply it. One might argue that logic could exist without a world, but then how could it exist given that the world does exist?

_Highlights the paradox of logic's dependence on the world for its applicability._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tractatus_logico_philosophicus_se/chapters/5-5521
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tractatus_logico_philosophicus_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tractatus_logico_philosophicus_se/chapters