Early Wittgenstein recognized that his own view was nonsensical.
Early Wittgenstein recognized that his own view was nonsensical.
The Tractatus doesn't give atomic facts (or pictures) about the world -- nor is it compounded out of such facts. Thus it tries to say something that can't be said. So it's nonsensical.
But this nonsense serves a purpose. It leads us to recognize the limits of language; after we recognize this, we must give up the view. We must, so to speak, throw away the ladder after we have climbed up it. We must transcend the views in the Tractatus, and then we will see the world aright.
Early Wittgenstein recognized that his own view was nonsensical.
The Tractatus doesn't give atomic facts (or pictures) about the world -- nor is it compounded out of such facts. Thus it tries to say something that can't be said. So it's nonsensical.
But this nonsense serves a purpose. It leads us to recognize the limits of language; after we recognize this, we must give up the view. We must, so to speak, throw away the ladder after we have climbed up it. We must transcend the views in the Tractatus, and then we will see the world aright.