2021 Volume 26 Pages 87-121
Wittgensteinʼs Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus consists largely of two arguments: one about language and one about life. As regards interpretations of the Tractatus, two important general questions arise concerning how to relate these two arguments and how to understand the Tractatus in a unified way, both of which relate to the question of how to understand Wittgensteinʼs philosophy in a unified way. However, this paper does not attempt to answer these questions or create a unified image of Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein appears, to me, to be a singular mystery. It makes little sense to impose a unified image on a mystery. In addition, this paper does not approach Wittgenstein from the perspective of his usefulness. It is sometimes suggested that we in the 21st century should learn from Wittgenstein. However, I do not believe that contemporary society can extract any immediately useful ideas from his philosophy. At times, oneʼs view of the world can change drastically. This paper is about how my view of Wittgenstein and his philosophy changed when I experienced a change in the world as a whole. An important aspect of this change in appearance was the realization that, for Wittgenstein, philosophy was life itself and my insight into the contrast between what can and cannot be said, which is the essence of Wittgensteinʼs philosophy.
