Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1961) is an argument for an austere, literal view of language. This core argument can be summarized by the following propositions:
(TLP 2) What is the case – a fact – is the existence of states of affairs.
(TLP 4.1) Propositions represent the existence and non-existence of states of affairs.
(TLP 4.11) The totality of true propositions is the whole of natural science…
The Logical Empiricists of the Vienna Circle took this argument as the basis for positivism: the view that language is a means for offering true statements about the world. Their “verification principle” asserted that a statement is meaningful only if there is a procedure for verifying whether it is true or not. Statements that do not fit this criterion are “nonsense.” Under such a definition, virtually all statements outside the realm of pure logic, mathematics, and empirical science are nonsense.
Wittgenstein believed, in fact, that a good deal of philosophy was...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Benfey, C. (2016). Wittgenstein’s handles. New York Review of Books (May 24, 2016). Retrieved from http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2016/05/24/wittgensteins-handles
Burbules, N. C. (2008). Tacit teaching. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 40(5), 666–677.
Gill, J. H. (1979). Wittgenstein and metaphor. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 40(2), 272–284.
Gill, J. H. (1996). Wittgenstein and metaphor (Rev. ed.). Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press.
Maruta, K. (2003). Wittgenstein, metaphors, and mental concepts. In R. Haller & K. Puhl (Eds.), Wittgenstein und die Zukunft der Philosophie Eine Neubewertung nach 50 Jahren. Wien, Verlagsges.
Monk, R. (1991). Ludwig Wittgenstein: The duty of genius. London: Vintage.
Nyíri, K. (2010). Image and metaphor in the philosophy of Wittgenstein. Paper based on a talk given at the 33rd International Wittgenstein Symposium Image and Imaging in Philosophy, Science, and the Arts Kirchberg am Wechsel (Austria), August 8–14.
Peters, M. A., Burbules, N., & Smeyers, P. (2008). Showing and doing: Wittgenstein as a pedagogical philosopher. Boulder: Paradigm Publishing. Revised and reissued with a new Preface and Postscript (2010).
Wittgenstein, L. (1958). Philosophical investigations (3rd ed) (trans: Anscombe, G. E. M.). New York: Macmillan. (PI).
Wittgenstein, L. (1961). Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (trans: Pears, D. F. & McGuinness, B. F.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. (TLP).
Wittgenstein, L. (1969). On certainty (trans: Paul, D. & Anscombe, G. E. M.). New York: Harper and Row. (OC).
Wittgenstein, L. (1980). Culture and value. von Wright, G. H. (Ed.) in collaboration with (trans: Nyman, H. & Winch, P.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. (CV).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this entry
Cite this entry
Burbules, N.C. (2017). Wittgenstein’s Pedagogical Metaphors. In: Peters, M.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-588-4_405
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-588-4_405
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-287-587-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-287-588-4
eBook Packages: EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education