Philosophy in the Contemporary World

Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 1994

Saranindranath Tagore
Pages 34-39

Death and Pictures in Wittgenstein’s Tractatus

The Picture Theory based on a realist ontology is central to the argument of the Tractatus. Wittgenstein, however, makes idealist claims while discussing the notion of the metaphysical subject. In this paper, I develop an interpretation of this text in which realism and idealism are reconciled. The task is accomplished by focusing on the later remarks of the Tractatus in general and the remarks on death in particular.