Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus · Chapter
4.464 explained
Wittgenstein distinguishes three types of propositions based on their truth-value: tautologies are certainly true, empirical propositions are possibly true or false, and contradictions are necessarily false.
What happens
Wittgenstein distinguishes three types of propositions based on their truth-value: tautologies are certainly true, empirical propositions are possibly true or false, and contradictions are necessarily false. He notes that this gradation corresponds to the concept of probability.
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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
- Logic and Tautology
Tautologies are certain, contradictions impossible, and empirical propositions possible—this gradation underlies the theory of probability.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Wittgenstein
Author of the Tractatus, presenting the logical classification of propositions.
Key passages
“The truth of tautology is certain, of propositions possible, of contradiction impossible.”
Tautologies are always true, empirical statements can be either true or false, and contradictions are always false.
This establishes a threefold logical classification that mirrors the degrees of probability.
