Philosophical Investigations (1953) represents Wittgenstein’s complete break from his earlier Tractatus. Where the Tractatus sought the logical essence of language, the Investigations finds meaning in the diverse practices of ordinary language use.
Language Games
Wittgenstein replaces the picture theory with “language games”—the countless ways we use words in different contexts. Meaning is not a fixed relationship between words and objects but depends on how words are used in specific practices.
“The meaning of a word is its use in the language.”
Games like describing, commanding, joking, greeting, and cursing each follow different rules. Philosophy goes wrong when it tries to find a single essence beneath this diversity.
Forms of Life
Language games are embedded in “forms of life”—shared human practices, behaviors, and customs. Understanding a language requires understanding the ways of living in which it functions.
This connects language to action, community, and embodied existence rather than abstract logic.
Dissolving Philosophical Problems
Wittgenstein argues that philosophical problems arise from misunderstanding how language works. We become confused when we take words out of their normal contexts and try to find their “real” meaning.
“Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.”
The goal is not to solve philosophical problems but to dissolve them by showing how they rest on linguistic confusion.
Influence
The Investigations transformed analytic philosophy, inspiring ordinary language philosophy, speech act theory, and social constructionism. Its method of careful attention to actual language use remains influential across disciplines.