Author

Ludwig Wittgenstein

16 key ideas across 2 books, each explained in our own words.

Philosophical Investigations

IDEA 1
Words get meaning from use
Wittgenstein argues that the meaning of a word is not a hidden object it stands for, but the way it is used in our lives. To understand a word, we should look at how people actually use it in different situations.
IDEA 2
Language is many games
Wittgenstein compares language to many different games, such as giving orders, telling jokes or describing objects. Each language game has its own rules, and words work differently in each. Context gives words life.
IDEA 3
Concepts share family resemblances
Wittgenstein asks what all games have in common and finds no single feature. Instead, games overlap like family members who share some features but not all. Many concepts work this way.

IDEA 1
The world is made of facts
Wittgenstein begins by stating that the world is the totality of facts, not of things. Facts are combinations of objects arranged in particular ways, and the simplest of them he calls atomic facts.
IDEA 2
Sentences picture facts
Wittgenstein's picture theory says that a meaningful sentence works like a picture of a possible fact. Its parts correspond to objects, and their arrangement shows how those objects are related.
IDEA 3
Logic shows the structure
Wittgenstein argues that sentences and facts share a logical form, which allows sentences to represent the world. This form cannot itself be described, only shown. Form is displayed, not stated.

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