Tractatus Logico-philosophicusThe Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (widely abbreviated and cited as TLP) (Latin for Logical Philosophical Treatise or Treatise on Logic and Philosophy) is the only book-length philosophical work by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein that was published during his lifetime. The project had a broad goal: to identify the relationship between language and reality and to define the limits of science. It is recognized by philosophers as a significant philosophical work of the twentieth century. G. E. Moore originally suggested the work's Latin title as homage to the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus by Baruch Spinoza. Wittgenstein wrote the notes for the Tractatus while he was a soldier during World War I and completed it during a military leave in the summer of 1918. It was first published in German in 1921 as Logisch-Philosophische Abhandlung. The Tractatus was influential chiefly amongst the logical positivist philosophers of the Vienna Circle, such as Rudolf Carnap and Friedrich Waismann. Bertrand Russell's article "The Philosophy of Logical Atomism" is presented as a working out of ideas that he had learned from Wittgenstein. The Tractatus employs an austere and succinct literary style. The work contains almost no arguments as such, but rather consists of declarative statements, or passages, that are meant to be self-evident. The statements are hierarchically numbered, with seven basic propositions at the primary level (numbered 1-7), with each sub-level being a comment on or elaboration of the statement at the next higher level (e.g., 1, 1.1, 1.11, 1.12, 1.13). In all, the Tractatus comprises 526 numbered statements. Wittgenstein's later works, notably the posthumously published Philosophical Investigations, criticised many of his earlier ideas in the Tractatus. |
From inside the book
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... speaking of a " complex " we are , as will appear later , sinning against the rules of philosophical grammar , but this is unavoidable at the outset . propositions and questions that have been written about philosophical matters are not ...
... speak of a logical picture of a reality when we wish to imply only so much resemblance as is essential to its being a picture in any sense , that is to say , when we wish to imply no more than identity of logical form . The logical ...
... speaking be defined , but we can explain what we mean . by saying that facts are what make propositions true , or false . Facts may contain parts which are facts or may contain no such parts ; for example : " Socrates II INTRODUCTION.
... speaking of the totality of things , and it will be found that any other method that may be suggested is equally fallacious : so , at least , Wittgenstein contends and , I think , rightly . This amounts to saying that " object " is a ...
... speak logically are nevertheless thought by him to exist , and are the subject - matter of his mysticism . The totality resulting from our hierarchy would be not merely logically inexpressible , but a fiction , a mere delusion , and in ...