Of pictures and trivialities

Wittgenstein’s picture theory of language (PTL) unites grammar and logic as two sides of the same coin. A consequence of this theory, which Wittgenstein refuses to accept, is that trivialities are ill-formed. This turns out to be precisely what is claimed by Logicality, a recently developed thesis about natural language which has been corroborated by a large amount of empirical arguments. Logicality also provides an explanation for Wittgenstein’s dissonant attitude towards trivialities. The discussion on PTL and Logicality brings out reasons to take a closer look at the historical relationship between analytic philosophy and generative linguistics.