From "the Theory Of Language-picture" To "the Theory Of Language-game"

"Linguistic turn"is the revolutionary turning point of western philosophy in the 20th century, which result out the massive movement of analytical philosophy. Ludwig Wittgenstein(1889—1951), as an important representative of analytical Philosophy, considered that problems of traditional philosophy originated from misunderstanding and misuse language, and that problems of Philosophy could be resolved and eliminated by analyzing language, for problems of Philosophy were problems of language in the final analysis. So, he considered that all the philosophies were"criticism of language".As the major theme,"criticism of language"pervaded the whole development course of Wittgenstein's philosophy. He advocated that problems of Philosophy should be resolved and eliminated by analyzing language; moreover, he putted forward two different theories—"the theory of language-picture"and"the theory of language-game".Using the former one, he intended to eliminate problems of traditional philosophy through analyzing logical structure of language from the angle of the relationship between language and logic. However, he turned his attention to the analysis of words and expressions for every day use in the latter one, and stressed that words and expressions could be meaningful only when they were used, with his attention on the use of them. Using"the theory of language-game", he intended to resolve problems of philosophy originating from misunderstanding words and expressions for every day use. The transition from"the theory of language-picture"to "the theory of language-game"made the analysis of language by analytical philosophers from the angle of logic to the angle of Pragmatic ,so the area of analysis of language was broadened.Based on "the theory of language-picture" and"the theory of language-game", the author analyzes Wittgenstein's philosophical thought, the transition of his thought as well as the influence of his thought on western Philosophy with five parts, in the present paper.Part I: the turning point in Western Philosophy. In this part, what are introduced are the background of Wittgenstein's philosophical thought, and the purpose and tasks of Wittgenstein's criticism of language.Part II: the theory of language-picture. What are mainly stated here are the basic contents and the difficulties of the theory.Part III: the theory of language-game. What are mainly stated here are the reasons of the transition, the course of putting out "the theory of language-picture" and basic contents of the theory.Part IV: the comparison of Wittgenstein's former thought and his latter thought. Here, the author analyzes the contradict and unity between Wittgenstein's former thought and his latter thought with comparative method.Part V: the important effect on western philosophy of Wittgenstein's philosophical thought. It is the important effect on western philosophy of Wittgenstein's former and latter philosophical thought which is mainly stated here.