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Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter
6.33 explained
Wittgenstein asserts that we do not have a priori belief in a specific law like conservation, but we do know a priori the possibility of a logical form.
What happens
Wittgenstein asserts that we do not have a priori belief in a specific law like conservation, but we do know a priori the possibility of a logical form.
Themes in this chapter
Logic and Tautology
The a priori knowledge of logical form is central to Wittgenstein's view of logic as tautological and independent of empirical laws.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Wittgenstein
Author of the proposition
Key passages
“We do not believe a priori in a law of conservation, but we know a priori the possibility of a logical form.”
We don't assume a law like conservation is true before experience, but we can know in advance that a logical structure is possible.
Distinguishes empirical laws from logical forms.