Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (6.5)

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (6.5)

In the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Proposition 6.5 seeks to ground his philosophy of action (Proposition 7: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent").

• 6.5 "For an answer which cannot be expressed, the question too cannot be expressed.

"The riddle does not exist.

"If a question can be put at all, then it can also be answered.

Although the historical significance of Tractatus is for its influence on the philosophers of logical empiricism, by providing them with a framework for a philosophy of science, and hence engineering, Wittgenstein actually wrote it as a work on ethics. See his propositions 6.4 onward.

But his motivation for writing, and the style of presentation, follow Frege and Russell, below.