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PHILOSOPHY PROFILE

Ludwig Wittgenstein

1945 and 1953

START WITH THE PUZZLE

Can the meaning of the same word be explained only by pairing it with one object?

Evidence-backed moments
7
Timeline events
2
Verified places
2

This is a guided intellectual story assembled from verified claims, works, and events in which this thinker actually appears. It avoids filling gaps with a generic encyclopedia biography.

Why this thinker is worth following

Story 1How do words point to the world?

Later Wittgenstein — Words at work in activities

The question that opens it

Can the meaning of the same word be explained only by pairing it with one object?

Follow the argument, not just the name
  1. 1

    The preface to Philosophical Investigations is dated Cambridge, January 1945, and the work was published posthumously in German and English by Basil Blackwell in Oxford in 1953.

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    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Philosophische Untersuchungen

      Ludwig Wittgenstein · German text reproducing Suhrkamp Werkausgabe 1 (1999), pages 231–485

      Locator: Preface: Cambridge, January 1945

      Open source

    • Philosophical Investigations

      Ludwig Wittgenstein · 1953 · Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1953; WorldCat record OCLC 301079

      Locator: Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1953

      Open source

    • Ludwig Wittgenstein

      Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

      Locator: Section 3.2

      Open source
  2. 2

    Section 1 begins from a picture in which words name objects and sentences combine names, without endorsing it as the final account of all language.

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    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Philosophische Untersuchungen

      Ludwig Wittgenstein · German text reproducing Suhrkamp Werkausgabe 1 (1999), pages 231–485

      Locator: Section 1

      Open source

    • Ludwig Wittgenstein

      Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

      Locator: Sections 3.2–3.4

      Open source
  3. 3

    The builder language in sections 2–3 works for a limited system joining names and actions but does not cover everything we call language.

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    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Philosophische Untersuchungen

      Ludwig Wittgenstein · German text reproducing Suhrkamp Werkausgabe 1 (1999), pages 231–485

      Locator: Sections 2–3

      Open source

    • Ludwig Wittgenstein

      Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

      Locator: Section 3.4

      Open source
  4. 4

    Section 23 stresses the diversity of uses of words and sentences and treats speaking as part of an activity or form of life.

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    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Philosophische Untersuchungen

      Ludwig Wittgenstein · German text reproducing Suhrkamp Werkausgabe 1 (1999), pages 231–485

      Locator: Section 23

      Open source
  5. 5

    Section 30 says that an ostensive definition can explain a use only when the role of the word in language is already sufficiently clear.

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    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Philosophische Untersuchungen

      Ludwig Wittgenstein · German text reproducing Suhrkamp Werkausgabe 1 (1999), pages 231–485

      Locator: Section 30

      Open source
  6. 6

    Sections 42–44 compare ways in which a name whose bearer is absent or gone can still be used meaningfully within a particular language-game.

    Check the evidence

    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Philosophische Untersuchungen

      Ludwig Wittgenstein · German text reproducing Suhrkamp Werkausgabe 1 (1999), pages 231–485

      Locator: Sections 42–44

      Open source
  7. 7

    Section 43 explains the meaning of a word as its use in language for a large class of cases, while expressly not claiming this for every case.

    Check the evidence

    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Philosophische Untersuchungen

      Ludwig Wittgenstein · German text reproducing Suhrkamp Werkausgabe 1 (1999), pages 231–485

      Locator: Section 43

      Open source
Try the full inquiry

Decisive moments in time

  1. January 1945

    The preface records Cambridge, January 1945 as its place and date.

    Cambridge · Composition

    PerspectiveOpen in question

  2. 1953

    The German and English edition is published posthumously by Basil Blackwell in Oxford.

    Oxford · Publication

    PerspectiveOpen in question

Open the places behind the story

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