Wittgenstein (Part 3) - From Simples to Samples

On The Very Idea - A Philosophy Podcast

Last episode, we explored why Ludwig Wittgenstein had to abandon his attempt to build the simple, beautiful language of the Tractatus. In this episode, we will look at his turn towards a more sociological, context-based investigation of language outlined in his later lectures. For the later Wittgenstein, language is a social phenomenon through and through. And, he relies on the concept of linguistic samples to connect language to the world it represents.