Wittgenstein’s later philosophy argues that meaning comes from use, not from a fixed hidden essence behind words.
Core idea
Words make sense inside language games: practical forms of life where people share habits, expectations, and social rules. A word does not carry one complete meaning everywhere. Its meaning depends on how it is used.
Croatian at home, English in Norway, and British English in London are not only different vocabularies. They are different social situations with different expectations about tone, politeness, directness, humor, and what counts as normal speech.
Why it matters
Confusion often happens when people treat language as if every word had one clean definition outside context. Wittgenstein’s point is that understanding a word usually means understanding the practice it belongs to.
Questions
- Which words change meaning most when they move between cultures?
- How much misunderstanding comes from using the right words in the wrong language game?