What is the logical form of that?
Mark Liberman,
Language Log,
Jun 08, 2023
This is a nice little bit of discussion on the origin of some of Wittgenstein's foundational ideas in the Investigations. It focuses on the contributions of Piero Sraffa, who convinced Wittgenstein that "language and reality do not necessarily have a common logical form." When we look at a picture, say, and ask, "What is the logical form of that?" sometimes there are no words. This is a pretty important turn in the history of philosophy, and preoccupied Wittgenstein for the rest of his life. Meaning, he eventually concludes, doesn't represent or 'picture' reality; it has more to do with 'use' and 'form of life'. This is really important. We may ask students to memorize 'facts', but what we're really demanding from student is a performance of a certain kind. Image: Wikipedia.
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