Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Ravi Kumar ¹
• Madhu Mangal Chaturvedi ¹
• Ashoka Kumar Tarai ²

¹ School of Philosophy and Culture, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, Jammu and Kashmir, India

² Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, Odisha, India

Abstract

This paper explores the philosophical relationship between Immanuel Kant's transcendental idealism and Ludwig Wittgenstein's linguistic philosophy, particularly focusing on the echoes of Kant's ideas in Wittgenstein's work. Kant's Critique of Pure Reason argues that human cognition is shaped by a priori categories, which structure our experience of phenomena but leave the noumenal realm unknowable. Wittgenstein, in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, similarly examines the limits of what can be known; suggesting that language mirrors reality but also has its limits in expressing what lies beyond logic. In his later work, Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein emphasizes the social and contextual nature of meaning, developed through "language games" and "forms of life". This paper argues that while Wittgenstein shifts from Kant’s universal transcendental structures to a more pragmatic view of language, both philosophers share a concern with the limits of human knowledge and expression. Furthermore, both thinkers acknowledge the ineffable about Kant’s noumenal world and Wittgenstein’s mystical realm as crucial yet unreachable domains. This comparative analysis contributes to contemporary discussions in epistemology and philosophy of language, demonstrating the enduring relevance of Kant’s transcendental insights in Wittgenstein’s linguistic turn.

Keywords

• Transcendental idealism
• language games
• limits of knowledge
• Kant
• Wittgenstein
• epistemology
• linguistic turn

Main Subjects

• philosophy