Question 1

Russell's theory of definite descriptions&#10;A) explains the logic of phrases having the form &#34;a&#10;So-and-so.&#34;&#10;B) assimilates the logic of definite descriptions to the logic of names.&#10;C) assumes that definite descriptions have meaning only in the context of a sentence.&#10;D) shows that definite descriptions are either true or false.

Accepted Answer

assumes that definite descriptions have meaning only in the context of a sentence.&#10;

Question 2

In Wittgenstein's Tractatus, every picture is taken to be&#10;A) a fact.&#10;B) made up of elementary sentences &#34;glued together&#34; by logical words.&#10;C) a tautology.&#10;D) a picture of a fact.

Accepted Answer

a fact.&#10;

Question 3

The world, according to the Tractatus, is&#10;A) a very complex thing.&#10;B) all the possible states of affairs.&#10;C) what would be pictured in the totality of true propositions.&#10;D) unknowable.

Accepted Answer

The world, according to the Tractatus, is what would be pictured in the totality of true propositions.

Question 4

Language, in the Tractatus view,&#10;A) is composed partly of sense and partly of nonsense.&#10;B) says nothing, but shows itself.&#10;C) is obscure and needs to be reformed in the direction of an ideal language.&#10;D) is, in the last analysis, composed of names in relation.

Accepted Answer

In the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Wittgenstein posits that language is fundamentally composed of names that stand in relation to one another, forming propositions that picture facts.

Question 5

Tautologies, Wittgenstein tells us,&#10;A) can be known to be true a priori.&#10;B) are pictures of very peculiar facts.&#10;C) show nothing.&#10;D) are sometimes true and sometimes false, and you need a truth table to tell you when one is the case and when the other is.

Accepted Answer

Tautologies are statements that are true in all possible situations, and thus can be known to be true a priori, without needing empirical verification.

Question 6

Wittgenstein's main aim in the Tractatus is to&#10;A) explain the nature of language.&#10;B) give an account of how natural science is a priori knowable.&#10;C) set a limit to thought.&#10;D) make accessible the results of the new logic.

Accepted Answer

Wittgenstein's main aim in the Tractatus is to set a limit to thought by showing what can be said meaningfully and what lies beyond the limits of language, which cannot be expressed.

Question 7

About the part of the Tractatus that Wittgenstein did not write, he said that&#10;A) it is composed of nonsense.&#10;B) it is the more important part.&#10;C) it deals with that part of natural science that remains to be discovered.&#10;D) he would write that part in a subsequent volume.

Accepted Answer

Wittgenstein famously remarked that what can be said at all can be said clearly, and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence. He believed the most important things—those that we cannot speak about (such as ethics, aesthetics, the mystical)—lie beyond the reach of language, thus making them the more important part of his work, despite not being explicitly written about in the Tractatus.

Question 8

Which of these sentences can not be found in the Tractatus?&#10;A) &#34;All propositions are of equal value.&#34;&#10;B) &#34;It is necessary for there to be propositions of ethics.&#34;&#10;C) &#34;The world is independent of my will.&#34;&#10;D) &#34;The world of the happy man is a different one from that of the unhappy man.&#34;

Accepted Answer

Ludwig Wittgenstein's "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus" does not contain the proposition "It is necessary for there to be propositions of ethics." The work emphasizes the limits of language and the idea that ethics, like aesthetics, is something that cannot be expressed in propositions or captured through the logical structure of language. This reflects Wittgenstein's view that some things, including ethical values, are beyond the reach of language and thus cannot be meaningfully discussed in propositional terms.

Question 9

About the meaning of life, Wittgenstein holds that&#10;A) only science can help us here.&#10;B) language has so far been inadequate to the task of expressing it, but there is hope that it may be developed so as to solve the riddle.&#10;C) the riddle can be answered in the clear words of the Tractatus.&#10;D) the solution lies in the vanishing of the problem.

Accepted Answer

Wittgenstein believed that philosophical problems, including the meaning of life, arise from misunderstandings of the logic of language. He argued that once these misunderstandings are resolved, the problems themselves disappear. In his view, the solution to the problem of life's meaning isn't found through answering it directly but through understanding that the question dissolves when approached correctly. This perspective is encapsulated in his famous proposition from the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, suggesting that the clarity in philosophical issues leads to their resolution by showing them to be nonsensical or based on linguistic confusion.

Question 10

About philosophy, Wittgenstein tells us:&#10;A) its task is to tell us the truth about ourselves.&#10;B) it is not an activity, but a body of doctrine.&#10;C) it aims at clarity.&#10;D) when properly understood, it can be seen to be identical with science.

Accepted Answer

Wittgenstein believed that the primary task of philosophy is to clarify thoughts and language. He argued that many philosophical problems arise from misunderstandings of the logic of language, and thus, philosophy should aim at resolving these confusions and achieving clarity, rather than establishing a body of doctrine or telling us the truth about ourselves in the way science might aim to do.

Question 11

According to the verifiability criterion of factual meaningfulness,&#10;A) propositions about God must be verifiable, since they deal with a factual question.&#10;B) the meaning of an ethical proposition consists in its conditions of verifiability.&#10;C) the criterion is itself verifiable.&#10;D) nothing unverifiable can be meaningful.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the verifiability criterion of factual...

Question 12

Logical positivists&#10;A) tend to take the &#34;objects&#34; of the Tractatus to be sense data.&#10;B) agree with Wittgenstein about the importance of the mystical.&#10;C) agree with Wittgenstein that ethical propositions express the feelings or sentiments of an individual.&#10;D) admit they are talking nonsense when they set out the conditions of meaningful language.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Logical positivists&#10;A) tend to take the &#34;objects&#34;...

Question 13

Sketch (in a general way, without all the details) how Russell's theory of definite descriptions can dispel confusion foisted upon us by misleading features of our language.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Sketch (in a general way, without all...

Question 14

Why couldn't the &#34;important&#34; part of the Tractatus be written?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why couldn't the &#34;important&#34; part of the...

Question 15

In the Tractatus, Wittgenstein held that a proposition is a picture. Explain this.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In the Tractatus, Wittgenstein held that a...

Question 16

In Wittgenstein's Tractatus, propositions are thought of as pictures. Very briefly,
a. What do propositions picture?
b. What do tautologies picture?
c. What do true propositions picture?
d. Can one elementary proposition entail another?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In Wittgenstein's Tractatus, propositions are thought of...

Question 17

What is the world, according to the early views of Wittgenstein?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the world, according to the...

Question 18

Why do tautologies and contradictions &#34;say nothing&#34;? What do they do?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why do tautologies and contradictions &#34;say nothing&#34;?...

Question 19

How is the limit to thought set?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How is the limit to thought set?...

Question 20

Is the philosophical self of the Tractatus more like Hume's fictional self or Kant's noumenal self? Explain.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Is the philosophical self of the Tractatus...

Question 21

What is the task of philosophy, according to the early Wittgenstein? What is its correct method? Explain the ladder analogy.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the task of philosophy, according...

Question 22

Explain the verifiability criterion of meaningfulness and its consequences for ethics.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain the verifiability criterion of meaningfulness and...

Question 23

What problems does the verifiability criterion run into?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What problems does the verifiability criterion run...

Question 24

Contrast the view of value found in the pragmatists--for instance, in John Dewey's thought--with that in Wittgenstein's Tractatus.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Contrast the view of value found in...

Question 25

Compare the solution given for the problem about the meaning of life in Wittgenstein's Tractatus with Nietzsche's solution in terms of the Overman and eternal recurrence.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Compare the solution given for the problem...

Question 26

Compare Wittgenstein on the nature of value with the positivist's account of value judgments. Are there similarities? What are the differences?&#10;Essential

Accepted Answer

The answer of Compare Wittgenstein on the nature of value...

Deck 25: The Pragmatists: Thought and Action