Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter
3.05 explained
Wittgenstein considers the possibility of knowing a priori that a thought is true, if its truth could be recognized from the thought itself without comparison to an object.
What happens
Wittgenstein considers the possibility of knowing a priori that a thought is true, if its truth could be recognized from the thought itself without comparison to an object.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This passage marks the story’s dramatic climax because it presents the moment when the protagonist’s obsessive…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Limits of Language and Thought
Explores the boundary of what can be known a priori about the truth of a thought
- Logical Atomism
Considers the relation between thought and the objects of comparison in determining truth
Characters to notice
- Mr. Wittgenstein
Author of the proposition
Key passages
“Only if we could know a priori that a thought is true if its truth was to be recognized from the thought itself (without an object of comparison).”
We could only know a thought is true in advance if its truth could be seen just from the thought, without needing to compare it to anything else.
Clarifies the condition for a priori truth of a thought
