Wittgenstein and Concepts

From: Walker, Guy (ghw296@soton.ac.uk)
Date: Thu May 15 1997 - 19:15:45 BST


I (seem to) remember in a lecture on language (I think) you mentioned
that Wittgenstein had some interesting ideas on the subject - what were
they? (Or if they can"t be talked about, I will pass over them in
silence!) I would be interested to find out (even if no one else would
be)

My second question is regards "concepts". If the concept of an apple is
a red round fruit or whatever, then many things could be red round
fruits and not be an apple. This explanation seems a bit simplistic -
could an apple (for example) consist of a whole variety of different
nuances, which are barely open for conscious inspection - but
nonetheless help me to recognise an apple in preference to a plum. This
as opposed to a few simple defining characteristics. Also, it is not
inconcievable, that as this concept was being refined in my own mind,
that at some stage I could have mistaken a plum for an apple.



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