'For the person or persons that hold dominion, can no more combine with the keeping up of majesty the running with harlots drunk or naked about the streets, or the performances of a stage player, or the open violation or contempt of laws passed by themselves than they can combine existence with non-existence'.

- Benedict de Spinoza. Political Treatise. 1677.




Monday, December 24, 2018

Tractatus: Introduction

in this work I advance a theory of the proposition

the proposition is a proposal – open to question – open to doubt and uncertain

in the absence of proposal – of propositions – the reality we face is unknown

we propose to make known –  our knowledge is proposal –

our knowledge is open to question – open to doubt – and is uncertain

our reality is propositional

there are two modes of propositional activity

firstly – we critically evaluate propositions –

that is we put propositions to question – to doubt and we explore their uncertainty

secondly – we play propositional games

propositional games are rule governed propositional actions

if you play a propositional game – you play in accordance with the rules of the game

if you don’t play in accordance with the rules – there is no game

in a propositional game – nothing is proposed – a game does not propose – a game is played

and the game as played is not open to question – open to doubt – or to be regarded as uncertain

in propositional life – we propose – and we play

in what follows I will explore and argue for this view of the proposition in relation to the argument of the Tractatus

I will proceed by presenting the propositions of the Tractatus – and follow each proposition with my response

                                                                                                                                    

© greg . t. charlton. 2018.