Wittgenstein,:Picture Theory of Proposition

In this paper,, I will first introduce the ontological view of Wittgenstein as it appears in the Tractatus. He starts his ontological discussion with the discussion of facts, which he then clarified by appealing to the notions of state of affairs and simple objects. I will then discuss his semantic view, which is based on his Picture Theory of Language, which brings in the notion of propositions. In such an analysis, he appeals to the notion of basic or elementary propositions and names. In his view, there is an isomorphic relationship (actually correspondence) between the logical structure of language (and its mental counterpart, thought) and the world. It is only in such a relation which a proposition can gain any meaning, or Sense. In this paper, I will investigate the relationship between the early Wittgenstein's ontological and semantic views and the way these views are related to other basic logical ideas in the Tractatus.