Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter
3.343 explained
Wittgenstein discusses definitions as rules for translating between languages, asserting that any correct symbolism must be translatable into any other according to these rules, which is what all symbolisms have in common.
What happens
Wittgenstein discusses definitions as rules for translating between languages, asserting that any correct symbolism must be translatable into any other according to these rules, which is what all symbolisms have in common.
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 translatability condition implies a common logical structure that defines the limits of what can be expressed.
- Logical Atomism
The idea that all correct symbolisms share a common essence through translation rules aligns with logical atomism's search for a universal logical form.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Wittgenstein
Author of the proposition; presents the theory of definitions as translation rules.
Key passages
“Definitions are rules for the translation of one language into another.”
A definition functions as a guideline for converting expressions from one symbolic system to another.
Clarifies the role of definitions in connecting different languages.
“Every correct symbolism must be translatable into every other according to such rules.”
Any properly constructed symbolic system can be converted into any other system using these definitional rules.
Establishes a universal translatability condition for correct symbolisms.
“It is this which all have in common.”
This translatability is the shared feature of all correct symbolisms.
Identifies the commonality that unifies different symbolic systems.
