Wittgenstein walked out of the language cage

Author: Zhang Xueguang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-07-01
Features: This book is primarily based on Ray Monk's renowned biography "Wittgenstein: A Life of Genius and Responsibility" and Wittgenstein's own works. Monk's biography of Wittgenstein is widely recognized as a model for combining the study of Wittgenstein's thought and life. Wittgenstein's own extensive writings provide a direct gateway into his philosophical mansion. Wittgenstein believed that he had completely resolved philosophical problems—or rather, completely negated them—because philosophical problems arise from misunderstanding the logic of our language, and now the essence of logic has been thoroughly clarified. Logic dictates: we can only meaningfully speak of contingent facts of the world, turning them into images in our language; whereas previous philosophy failed to grasp the logic of our language, attempting to say things beyond facts, making their problems not unanswerable but meaningless. During 1933–1934, Wittgenstein arrived at different conclusions regarding the nature of language. He argued that the previous view of language as merely describing reality, and the attempt to construct symbolic systems that strictly correspond to the factual world due to the perceived imprecision of everyday language, was unreasonable. In his later period of life, Wittgenstein continuously reflected on the certainty of life. This was also the philosophical question that arose from his mind at the beginning of his life and for which he sought answers throughout his existence. It became the underlying thread of his philosophy in both its early and later phases. Wittgenstein sought certainty not only for language and logic but also for life. Of course, he believed that he had found certainty in his thinking, as his early and later philosophies respectively opened new horizons for philosophy. Moreover, he demonstrated through his own life a tranquil and certain way of living, with friendship, love, and faith always accompanying him. Thus, he felt that he had lived a happy and meaningful life.