Vol. 6 No. 1 (2013): Wittgenstein on Aesthetics / Aesthetics on Wittgenstein
Articles

Wittgenstein’s Picture Theory of Pictures

Published 2013-05-15

Keywords

  • Depiction,
  • Ontology,
  • Cinema,
  • Wittgenstein

How to Cite

Terrone, E. (2013). Wittgenstein’s Picture Theory of Pictures. Aisthesis. Pratiche, Linguaggi E Saperi dell’estetico, 6(1), 275–290. https://doi.org/10.13128/Aisthesis-12852

Abstract

I rely on Frascolla's interpretation of the Tractatus ontology to develop an account of depiction in which a picture is conceived of as a visual structure constituted by pixels that are conceived of, in their turn, as elementary propositions. Then I argue that such an account is complementary to the considerations about «noticing aspects» in the Philosophical Investigations, to the extent that the visual structure constituted by pixels provides a design allowing the picture’s viewer to notice aspects. Finally I argue that a joint reading of the considerations about pictures in the Tractatus and in the Philosophical Investigations allows us to address some important issues in the contemporary philosophical debate about depiction.