A New Interpretation of the "Unspeakable" and "Silence" in Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus : The Meaning Which the Propositional Sentence Number 7 Came to Have in Wittgenstein's Life

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  • 『論理哲学論考』における「語りえないもの」と「沈黙」をめぐる新解釈 : ウィトゲンシュタインの生涯において「文番号七」がもった意味
  • ロンリ テツガクロンコウ ニ オケル カタリエナイ モノ ト チンモク オ メグル シン カイシャク ウィトゲンシュタイン ノ ショウガイ ニ オイテ ブン バンゴウ 7 ガ モッタ イミ

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Proposition Number 7 in Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (Tractatus) is as follows: "What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence." This propositional sentence is, however, very difficult to understand exactly. This article traces back to the very early handwritten version of Tractatus and interprets the meaning which it came to have in Wittgenstein's life after the publication of Tractatus. The propositional sentence seems to have been originally written in connection with "Value," not with "Logic." We may observe it in Proto-Prototractatus (not in Prototractatus). Furthermore, it seems that Wittgenstein wrote the sentence first as a matter of self-discipline, namely he prohibited himself to speak about the unspeakable/the unsayable (God, ethics, and so forth). Wittgenstein had, however, a strong "desire" throughout his life to speak about the unspeakable and he overcame his self-discipline at the end of "A Lecture on Ethics." After that he distinguished between philosophical matters and religious ones in writing. In other words, Wittgenstein fell into a dilemma: on one hand, he who was conscious of the propositional sentence which was publicly accepted could not write on the unspeakable in philosophical writings, but on the other hand, he could not repress his strong "desire" to write on and talk about the unspeakable. Therefore, he privately put it into practice. His Diary (Denkbewegungen: Tagebucher 1930-1932, 1936-1937) found in 1993 reflects this dilemma or drama. This Diary is the most important material for examining Wittgenstein as "homo religiosus."

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