Philosophy 118: 13 February, 2009

These notes were taken from my class with Dr. Reyes for Philosophy 118 last 13 February

.:Wittgenstein, Continued:.

Everything stems from the ambit of language. Upon gazing at being, you already find yourself in the trappings of language. Insofar as he wishes to be able to determine the veracity of statements by breaking them down into elementary propositions until each elementary proposition can be properly evaluated, as it were.

Philosophical problems, to Wittgenstein seem to be false problems. These are problems that cannot be properly responded to, and do not seem to affect how one carries out his life, either way.

.:The Color Scheme:.

Aside from the realization that the language in Trachtatus is solely descriptive language and other types of language certainly exist, Wittgenstein understood the color scheme to also be a weakness of his initial ideas.

While the sun can shine or not shine, colors don't seem to follow the same logic. Something that is not blue is not necessarily a particular color, after all. The same with measurements. “Not 4 meters” could be “4 miles” or “4 inches” or whatever other possible value.

At this point, Wittgenstein slowly forms a new viewpoint on language. Here, he writes the book “Philosophical Investigation”.

.:Philosophical Investigation:.

Wittgenstein shifts his thesis to language as use instead of language merely as picture theory. Language, specifically, ordinary language is likened to a game, as such. In contrast, descriptive language is rather contrived.

A game is governed by rules, just like language. A game is also autonomous. What determines what is good in a game is its internal system, not an outside authority. The game is also communal, in that you cannot play the game if you cannot agree upon the rules of the game. The rules have to be shared by all players involved. The game also requires participation, as you are not wholly fit to critique something you are not a part of.

Each language is an expression of a form of life. Whether humorous language, or dramatic language, or whatever else, they all follow their own boundaries.