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Single Idea 12576

[from 'Philosophical Investigations' by Ludwig Wittgenstein, in 18. Thought / D. Concepts / 3. Ontology of Concepts / b. Concepts as abilities ]

Full Idea

Wittgenstein implies that which concepts a thinker is capable of possessing depends on the ways in which he is capable of finding a natural way to go on.

Gist of Idea

Possessing a concept is knowing how to go on

Source

report of Ludwig Wittgenstein (Philosophical Investigations [1952]) by Christopher Peacocke - A Study of Concepts 1.2

Book Reference

Peacocke,Christopher: 'A Study of Concepts' [MIT 1999], p.14


A Reaction

This doesn't seem to amount to much. Presumably someone who failed to grasp a concept would demonstrate the fact by going on in a silly way, and whether or not it was silly might not be obvious. A genius may go on in a quirky way.