Abstract

Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus ends with a paradox, the nonsensicality paradox, which consists not only in equating its own pseudo-propositions with plain nonsenses, but also in failing to yield a principled distinction between such pseudo-propositions and pseudo-propositions of traditional bad metaphysics. One can however find a way out of the paradox in the Philosophical Investigations, where metaphysical propositions detected by the good philosopher actually are grammatical propositions qua prescriptions expressing the rules for the correct use of the words they contain, while pseudo-propositions put forward by the bad metaphysician are nonsensical violations of those rules