Idealism and Realism in the Ontology of the "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus"

Abstract

The meaning of idealism and realism is a fundamental topic in Wittgenstein's theory. Nevertheless, further analysis is required in order to clarify its role in the whole context of the picture-theory, namely the semantics of the Tractatus. The hypothesis I intend to present here is that Wittgenstein turns the distinction “inside/outside” (idealism/ realism) into another distinction between “name” and “proposition”: whereas the meaning of the name is always known, the meaning of the proposition is ungraspable insofar as it refers to unknown situations.