Claim · Seed idea · last reconsidered September 8, 2026
Meaning is use
A representation carries no sense apart from the practice of using it, and no rule fixes its own application.
- Territories
- Knowing
A representation means nothing on its own. Its sense is settled by how it is used in a practice, and no amount of further specification can make its application unambiguous — at some point someone has to know how to go on.
Ludwig WittgensteinOrdinary language philosophy1953
Connected ideas
derived from
- Philosophical InvestigationsSource
Developed through the rule-following remarks.
related to
- RepresentationConcept
It is the sharpest limit on what a representation can carry.
responds to
- When does representation become sufficient?Question
On this account, never on its own — sufficiency is a fact about a practice.