The Philosophical Investigations


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After writing the Tractatus, Wittgenstein quit philosophy for many years -- confident that he had solved all of its problems. He later returned and attacked his earlier views. His Philosophical Investigations are the crowning achievement of his later period.

In his later period, Wittgenstein looked at language as a social phenomenon subject to loose rules. In talking about language, we shouldn't oversimplify. His favorite motto became "Don't think -- but look!" In other words, base your views on concrete examples, not on preconceptions. So Wittgenstein turned from his rigid system and became very anti-system.

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