Some Remarks on Logical Form

Some Remarks on Logical Form is the only article published by Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) during his lifetime. It aimed to address the key problem of his early philosophy, namely, the possibility of two elementary propositions with the same logical form, both about the same fact, being simultaneously true. This problem was formulated as the assumption of the compatibility of two color attributes at the same spatial point. This compatibility, which is allowed by the logical (symbolic) notation, would be destructive for the theory of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921), which is grounded on the postulates that the truth value of any elementary proposition is independent of the others, and, at the same time, that there cannot be any contradictions between elementary propositions. The article, created in 1929, marks his last attempt to resolve the problem, which resulted in the abandonment of the theory of elementary propositions the following year. This article possesses great historico-philosophical value: it demonstrates, first, the evolution of L. Wittgenstein’s philosophy, and, second, the problems which he consequently addressed in devising his new, so-called later philosophy.Translated by Nazar Matovka from the original publication: Wittgenstein, L. (1929). Some remarks on logical form. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes, 9, 162-171. Scientific editing by Viacheslav Tsyba.