Philosophical Investigations

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Philosophical Investigations

work by Wittgenstein

Also known as: “Philosophische Untersuchungen”

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July 1, 2026

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Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations (1953) is a seminal work in the philosophy of language. It challenges the idea that words have fixed meanings, arguing instead that meaning is derived from how words are used in practical human activities, a concept often summarized as "meaning is use".1

Wittgenstein introduced the idea of "language games" to illustrate how words gain meaning within specific contexts, comparing a word's meaning to a chess piece's power within the game. He also highlighted the "family resemblance" between uses of a word, suggesting that not all instances share a single defining characteristic, but rather a network of overlapping similarities. This work emphasizes that philosophical problems often arise from misunderstandings of language and that philosophy's role is to clarify these confusions, acting as a form of "therapeutic" intervention.12

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analytic philosophy
The therapeutic function of philosophy
…As Wittgenstein observed in the Philosophical Investigations (1953), the aim of philosophy is “to shew the fly the way out of the fly-bottle.”
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…As Wittgenstein observed in the Philosophical Investigations (1953), the aim of philosophy is “to shew the fly the way out of the fly-bottle.”
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Christianity
Faith and reason
Wittgenstein’s concept of seeing-as (Philosophical Investigations, 1953). Wittgenstein pointed to the epistemological significance of puzzle pictures, such as the ambiguous “duck-rabbit” that can be seen either as a duck’s head facing one way or a rabbit’s head facing another way. The enlarged concept of experiencing-as (developed by the British…
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Wittgenstein’s concept of seeing-as (Philosophical Investigations, 1953). Wittgenstein pointed to the epistemological significance of puzzle pictures, such as the ambiguous “duck-rabbit” that can be seen either as a duck’s head facing one way or a rabbit’s head facing another way. The enlarged concept of experiencing-as (developed by the British…
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Ludwig Wittgenstein
Wittgenstein regarded his later book Philosophical Investigations as just such a synopsis, and indeed he found its proper arrangement enormously difficult. For the last 20 years of his life, he tried again and again to produce a version of the book that satisfied him, but he never felt he had…
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Wittgenstein regarded his later book Philosophical Investigations as just such a synopsis, and indeed he found its proper arrangement enormously difficult. For the last 20 years of his life, he tried again and again to produce a version of the book that satisfied him, but he never felt he had…
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ordinary language analysis
In the posthumous Philosophical Investigations (1953), Wittgenstein advocated that, in solving philosophical problems, an understanding of how language is used is more important than its abstract meaning (i.e., the context in which a sentence is uttered may be more useful in determining its meaning than its innate semantic…
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In the posthumous Philosophical Investigations (1953), Wittgenstein advocated that, in solving philosophical problems, an understanding of how language is used is more important than its abstract meaning (i.e., the context in which a sentence is uttered may be more useful in determining its meaning than its innate semantic…
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philosophy of language
The later Wittgenstein
…passages in Wittgenstein’s late masterpiece Philosophical Investigations (1953) attempt to unseat the notion of private experience. Their interpretation is endlessly controversial, but the basic idea is that objects of thought cannot include elements that are purely “private” to a single individual—as sensations, for example, are supposed to be. For if…
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…passages in Wittgenstein’s late masterpiece Philosophical Investigations (1953) attempt to unseat the notion of private experience. Their interpretation is endlessly controversial, but the basic idea is that objects of thought cannot include elements that are purely “private” to a single individual—as sensations, for example, are supposed to be. For if…
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Saul Kripke
Meaning and skepticism
…used considerations originating in the Philosophical Investigations (1953) of Ludwig Wittgenstein to raise skeptical questions about whether knowledge of linguistic meaning can be reduced to rule following, or indeed to any objective facts about speakers. Although Kripke himself drew no conclusion on this point, his discussion was widely interpreted as…
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…used considerations originating in the Philosophical Investigations (1953) of Ludwig Wittgenstein to raise skeptical questions about whether knowledge of linguistic meaning can be reduced to rule following, or indeed to any objective facts about speakers. Although Kripke himself drew no conclusion on this point, his discussion was widely interpreted as…
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