Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter
6.35 explained
Wittgenstein distinguishes between the geometrical network of laws (like causation) and the actual spots in a picture, noting that geometry can say nothing about the actual form and position of the spots, while the network's properties are
What happens
Wittgenstein distinguishes between the geometrical network of laws (like causation) and the actual spots in a picture, noting that geometry can say nothing about the actual form and position of the spots, while the network's properties are given a priori.
Themes in this chapter
Logic and Tautology
The network's properties are given a priori, akin to tautological truths, while the spots (empirical facts) are contingent.
Limits of Language and Thought
Geometry cannot speak about the actual form and position of the spots, illustrating the limits of what can be said about empirical reality.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Wittgenstein
Author of the proposition, discussing the relationship between geometrical networks and empirical facts.
Key passages
“Although the spots in our picture are geometrical figures, geometry can obviously say nothing about their actual form and position.”
Even though the spots are geometric shapes, geometry cannot describe their specific shape or location in reality.
Highlights the distinction between formal structure and empirical content.
“Laws, like the law of causation, etc., treat of the network and not what the network describes.”
Laws such as causation deal with the abstract framework, not the particular facts it organizes.
Emphasizes that scientific laws are about the logical structure, not the specific phenomena.