Project Gutenberg's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, by Ludwig Wittgenstein

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Title: Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

Author: Ludwig Wittgenstein

Release Date: May, 2004 [EBook #5740]
Posting Date: June 11, 2009

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Produced by Matthew Stapleton

TRACTATUS LOGICO-PHILOSOPHICUS

By Ludwig Wittgenstein

Perhaps this book will be understood only by someone who has himself
already had the thoughts that are expressed in it--or at least similar
thoughts.--So it is not a textbook.--Its purpose would be achieved if it
gave pleasure to one person who read and understood it.

The book deals with the problems of philosophy, and shows, I believe,
that the reason why these problems are posed is that the logic of our
language is misunderstood. The whole sense of the book might be summed
up the following words: what can be said at all can be said clearly, and
what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence.

Thus the aim of the book is to draw a limit to thought, or rather--not
to thought, but to the expression of thoughts: for in order to be able
to draw a limit to thought, we should have to find both sides of the
limit thinkable (i.e. we should have to be able to think what cannot be
thought).

It will therefore only be in language that the limit can be drawn, and
what lies on the other side of the limit will simply be nonsense.

I do not wish to judge how far my efforts coincide with those of other
philosophers. Indeed, what I have written here makes no claim to novelty
in detail, and the reason why I give no sources is that it is a matter
of indifference to me whether the thoughts that I have had have been
anticipated by someone else.

I will only mention that I am indebted to Frege's great works and to the
writings of my friend Mr Bertrand Russell for much of the stimulation of
my thoughts.

If this work has any value, it consists in two things: the first is that
thoughts are expressed in it, and on this score the better the thoughts
are expressed--the more the nail has been hit on the head--the greate