167. It is clear that our empirical
propositions do not all have the same status, since one can lay down such a
proposition and turn it from an empirical proposition into a norm of
description.
Think of chemical investigations. Lavoisier
makes experiments with substances in his laboratory and now he concludes that
this and that takes place when there is burning. He does not say that it might
happen otherwise another time. He has got hold of a definite world- picture –
not of course one that he invented: he learnt it as a child. I would say world-picture and not hypothesis,
because it is the matter-of-course foundation for his research and as such also
goes unmentioned.
yes – Lavoisier operated with norms –
assumptions –
propositions – the truth of which – he
assumed – for the purposes of his work –
Wittgenstein says he didn’t invent his
world-picture – but learnt it as a child –
if so what he learnt was how to operate
with propositions –
the ground of which is unknown
