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Single Idea 15106

[filed under theme 9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 5. Essence as Kind ]

Full Idea

Essence is expressed by grammar. ...Grammar tells us what kind of object anything is.

Gist of Idea

Essence is expressed by grammar

Source

Ludwig Wittgenstein (Philosophical Investigations [1952], §371-3)

Book Ref

Wittgenstein,Ludwig: 'Philosophical Investigations', ed/tr. Anscombe,E. [Blackwell 1972], p.116

A Reaction

Enigmatic, as usual. The second part seems to imply sortal essentialism, though the emphasis on grammar seems to make it highly conventional, rather than a reflection of 'real' sorts.

The 53 ideas from 'Philosophical Investigations'

18743 Wittgenstein says we want the grammar of problems, not their first-order logical structure [Wittgenstein, by Horsten/Pettigrew]
6501 As sense-data are necessarily private, they are attacked by Wittgenstein's objections [Wittgenstein, by Robinson,H]
7055 Externalist accounts of mental content begin in Wittgenstein [Wittgenstein, by Heil]
12576 Possessing a concept is knowing how to go on [Wittgenstein, by Peacocke]
23450 Wittgenstein rejected his earlier view that the form of language is the form of the world [Wittgenstein, by Morris,M]
6567 For Wittgenstein, words are defined by their use, just as chess pieces are [Wittgenstein, by Fogelin]
4136 To imagine a language means to imagine a form of life [Wittgenstein]
4137 In the majority of cases the meaning of a word is its use in the language [Wittgenstein]
4138 Is white simple, or does it consist of the colours of the rainbow? [Wittgenstein]
4139 Naming is a preparation for description [Wittgenstein]
4140 The standard metre in Paris is neither one metre long nor not one metre long [Wittgenstein]
4141 Various games have a 'family resemblance', as their similarities overlap and criss-cross [Wittgenstein]
4946 A name is not determined by a description, but by a cluster or family [Wittgenstein, by Kripke]
2512 Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language [Wittgenstein]
6566 The problem is to explain the role of contradiction in social life [Wittgenstein]
4142 To understand a sentence means to understand a language [Wittgenstein]
6165 Every course of action can either accord or conflict with a rule, so there is no accord or conflict [Wittgenstein]
4143 One cannot obey a rule 'privately', because that is a practice, not the same as thinking one is obeying [Wittgenstein]
6169 We do not achieve meaning and understanding in our heads, but in the world [Wittgenstein, by Rowlands]
6166 Was Wittgenstein's problem between individual and community, or between occasions for an individual? [Rowlands on Wittgenstein]
4144 Common human behaviour enables us to interpret an unknown language [Wittgenstein]
11049 To communicate, language needs agreement in judgment as well as definition [Wittgenstein]
4145 How do words refer to sensations? [Wittgenstein]
5676 To say that I 'know' I am in pain means nothing more than that I AM in pain [Wittgenstein]
7875 If a brilliant child invented a name for a private sensation, it couldn't communicate it [Wittgenstein]
4146 We cannot doublecheck mental images for correctness (or confirm news with many copies of the paper) [Wittgenstein]
4147 If we only named pain by our own case, it would be like naming beetles by looking in a private box [Wittgenstein]
5659 If the reference is private, that is incompatible with the sense being public [Wittgenstein, by Scruton]
5663 It is irresponsible to generalise from my own case of pain to other people's [Wittgenstein]
19272 To imagine another's pain by my own, I must imagine a pain I don't feel, by one I do feel [Wittgenstein]
4148 What is your aim in philosophy? - To show the fly the way out of the fly-bottle [Wittgenstein]
4149 We don't have 'meanings' in our minds in addition to verbal expressions [Wittgenstein]
4150 Asking about verification is only one way of asking about the meaning of a proposition [Wittgenstein]
15106 Essence is expressed by grammar [Wittgenstein]
4151 Grammar tells what kind of object anything is - and theology is a kind of grammar [Wittgenstein]
4152 Getting from perceptions to words cannot be a private matter; the rules need an institution of use [Wittgenstein]
4153 Are sense-data the material of which the universe is made? [Wittgenstein]
4154 Why are we not aware of the huge gap between mind and brain in ordinary life? [Wittgenstein]
4155 We all seem able to see quite clearly how sentences represent things when we use them [Wittgenstein]
6600 The belief that fire burns is like the fear that it burns [Wittgenstein]
4156 Make the following experiment: say "It's cold here" and mean "It's warm here" [Wittgenstein]
4157 Concepts direct our interests and investigations, and express those interests [Wittgenstein]
7092 If individuals can't tell if they are following a rule, how does a community do it? [Grayling on Wittgenstein]
4158 An 'inner process' stands in need of outward criteria [Wittgenstein]
6658 What is left over if I subtract my arm going up from my raising my arm? [Wittgenstein]
22490 Bring words back from metaphysics to everyday use [Wittgenstein]
11079 How do I decide when to accept or obey an intuition? [Wittgenstein]
12606 Man learns the concept of the past by remembering [Wittgenstein]
19273 I don't have the opinion that people have minds; I just treat them as such [Wittgenstein]
4159 The human body is the best picture of the human soul [Wittgenstein]
4160 One can mistrust one's own senses, but not one's own beliefs [Wittgenstein]
4161 If a lion could talk, we could not understand him [Wittgenstein]
7392 If a lion could talk, it would be nothing like other lions [Dennett on Wittgenstein]