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Meaning
The quote suggests that we understand unfamiliar language by comparing it with ordinary human behavior. It implies that shared patterns in how people act help us make sense of words we do not yet know. In other words, interpretation depends on a common frame of reference.
When It Was Said
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Who It Was Said To
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Historical Context
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Source
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Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
No source found on Wikiquote; the quote is listed as attributed to Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Did You Know?
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About Ludwig Wittgenstein
Austro-British philosopher
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austro-British philosopher associated with logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is known for work that shaped twentieth-century philosophical debate, especially in these fields. His writing centers on how language works, how thought is expressed, and the foundations of reasoning and meaning.
More from Ludwig Wittgenstein (113 quotes) →More quotes by Ludwig Wittgenstein
- “Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.”Ludwig Wittgenstein
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- “I have extremely little courage myself, much less than you; but I have found that whenever, after a long stru…”Ludwig Wittgenstein
- “Logic must look after itself. In a certain sense, we cannot make mistakes in logic.”Ludwig Wittgenstein
More Language quotes
- “I went to hockey camp at Michigan because my dad has some relatives in the Ann Arbor area. We went to visit t…”Carl Hagelin
- “Arguments about language are usually arguments about politics, disguised and channeled through one of our mos…”Robert Lane Greene
- “Even so, sometimes I wish I did have a little bit more flair in my language.”Alex Berenson
READ THE SOURCE
Books by Ludwig Wittgenstein
Tractatus logico-philosophicus
1921
Zettel
1967
Philosophische Untersuchungen
1953
Über Gewissheit
1972