THE MODERN WORLD 251
Philosophy demands logical, unambiguous
language. Wittgenstein concludes, therefore, that it
can only be made up of propositions, or statements
of fact, such as “the cat sat on the mat”, which can
be clearly divided into their component parts.
nonsensical. Instead, he believes
that these are the most important
problems of all. It is simply that
they cannot be put into words,
and because of this, they cannot
become a part of philosophy.
Wittgenstein writes that these
things, even though we cannot
speak of them, nevertheless make
themselves manifest, adding that
“they are what is mystical.”
All of this, however, has serious
repercussions for the propositions
that lie within the Tractatus itself.
After all, these are not propositions
that picture the world. Even logic,
one of Wittgenstein’s major tools,
does not say anything about the
world. Is the Tractatus, therefore,
nonsense? Wittgenstein himself
- =
was fearless in following his
argument to its conclusion,
ultimately recognizing that the
answer to such a question must be
yes. Anybody who understands the
Tractatus properly, he claims, will
eventually see that the propositions
used in it are nonsense, too. They
are like the steps of a philosophical
ladder that helps us to climb
altogether beyond the problems of
philosophy, but which we can kick
away once we have ascended.Change of direction
After completing the Tractatus,
Wittgenstein concluded that
there were no more philosophical
problems left to resolve, and so
abandoned the discipline. However,
over the course of the 1920s and
1930s, he began to question his
earlier thinking, becoming one of
its fiercest critics. In particular, he
questioned his once firmly held
belief that language consists
solely of propositions, a view that
ignores much of what we do in our
everyday speech—from telling
jokes, to cajoling, to scolding.
Nevertheless, despite all of its
problems, the Tractatus remains
one of the most challenging and
compelling works of Western
philosophy—and ultimately one
of the most mysterious. ■Ludwig Wittgenstein
Born into a wealthy Viennese
family in 1889, Wittgenstein
first studied engineering and
in 1908 traveled to England
to continue his education in
Manchester. However, he soon
developed an interest in logic,
and by 1911 had moved to
Cambridge to study under the
philosopher Bertrand Russell.
During World War I, he
served on the Russian front
and in Italy, where he was
taken prisoner. Around this
time, he began the Tractatus
Logico-Philosophicus, which
was published in 1921.
Believing that the Tractatus
resolved all the problems of
philosophy, Wittgenstein now
embarked on an itinerant
career as a schoolteacher,
gardener, and architect. But
after developing criticisms of
his earlier ideas, he resumed
his work at Cambridge in
1929, becoming a professor
there in 1939. He died in 1951.Key works1921 Tractatus
Logico-Philosophicus
1953 Philosophical
Investigations
1958 The Blue and
Brown Books
1977 Remarks on ColourWhat we cannot
speak about we
must pass
over in silence.
Ludwig Wittgenstein