LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN
He examines meaning through language-games and ordinary use rather than abstract definitions alone, seeking to dissolve confusions by returning words to the concrete practices and actions in which they function.
1889–1951Analytic philosophy · Philosophy of language · Philosophy of logicAustria · United Kingdom
Other names and spellings
루트비히 비트겐슈타인 · 비트겐슈타인 · Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein
Core ideas
LANGUAGE-GAMESMEANING AND USEFAMILY RESEMBLANCEFORM OF LIFELOGIC AND LANGUAGE
Works & sources
Philosophical Investigations §43 (1953)
LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN, a first reading
Wittgenstein explored the relation between language and thought. His later Philosophical Investigations turns toward the many activities in which words are actually used.
Language-games: what does it mean?
A language-game connects the use of words with the activities and forms of life around them. A word can do different work in a request, report, or joke; meaning is understood through shared practices and rules, rather than private whim.
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