An insight into Wittgenstein’s formal concepts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4396/20260605Keywords:
formal concept, logical space, possibility, experience, geometryAbstract
This paper seeks to provide an account of Wittgenstein’s notion of the “formal concept” by highlighting its operative significance. In this respect, this logical device is construed as a mode of sign-use that determines the meaningful occurrence of the empirical concepts falling under it in propositions. The first part of the article examines the Tractarian sections in which the notion is introduced, while the second aims to further develop its operative character by comparing it with several remarks on the status of the pseudo-propositions of mathematics. Finally, some considerations are offered on the notion of “possibility” that formal concepts bring into play.
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