What distinction did Wittgenstein make between what can be said and what can be shown?

In his work Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Ludwig Wittgenstein proposed a fundamental distinction between what can be expressed through language and what must remain unstated.

According to Wittgenstein, a proposition functions as a picture of reality by sharing a common "logical form" with the state of affairs it represents. However, because this logical form is the very condition that makes representation possible, it cannot itself be represented or described by language. Consequently, Wittgenstein argued that logical form—along with matters of ethics, aesthetics, and religion—cannot be "said" or stated in meaningful propositions.12

Instead, these elements are "shown" or made manifest through the structure of language itself. Wittgenstein famously suggested that while these truths are inexpressible, they are nonetheless contained within what is uttered. He viewed this insight as the central message of his work, acknowledging that because his own philosophical remarks attempted to state what could only be shown, they were, strictly speaking, "senseless"—a ladder that must be discarded after one has climbed it.12