Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter
3.32 explained
Wittgenstein distinguishes between the sign, which is the perceptible aspect of a symbol, and the symbol itself, which includes its logical significance.
What happens
Wittgenstein distinguishes between the sign, which is the perceptible aspect of a symbol, and the symbol itself, which includes its logical significance.
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…
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Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Limits of Language and Thought
The distinction between sign and symbol touches on how language can be perceived versus how it carries logical meaning.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Wittgenstein
Author of the proposition distinguishing sign from symbol.
Key passages
“The sign is the part of the symbol perceptible by the senses.”
A sign is the sensory aspect of a symbol, what we can see or hear.
Clarifies the relationship between the physical mark or sound and its logical role.
