Explaining the Problem of Color Exclusion From the Perspective of Structural Necessity in the Tractatus

Document Type : علمی - پژوهشی

Authors
fatemeh hejazian 1
Reza Sadeghi 2
Amir Ehsan Karbasizade 2
1 PhD Student in Contemporary Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan
10.48308/kj.2025.239795.1322
Abstract
This paper examines the problem of color exclusion in Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. Wittgenstein asserts in this work that there is only one kind of necessity, namely, logical necessity. However, the problem of color exclusion—meaning that two colors cannot simultaneously occupy the same point in space—poses a serious challenge to this view; for, on the one hand, the conjunction of two color propositions (for example, "point A is red" and "point A is green") appears to be impossible, and on the other hand, this impossibility does not seem to constitute a logical contradiction. Various solutions have been proposed to resolve this challenge. This paper critically analyzes the proposed solutions and introduces the concept of "structural necessity"—a necessity arising from the limits and combinatorial possibilities of objects. It then, in light of this concept, seeks to articulate a type of logical necessity distinct from tautology and to demonstrate how this explanation can provide an appropriate response to the problem of color exclusion.
Keywords
color exclusion
structural necessity
tautological necessity
states of affairs
essence of objects
Subjects
Black, M. (1964). A companion to Wittgenstein's Tractatus. Cornell University Press.
Bradley, R. (1992). The nature of all being: A study of Wittgenstein's modal atomism. Oxford University Press.
Glock, H.-J. (1996). A Wittgenstein dictionary. Blackwell.
Jacquette, D. (1990). Wittgenstein and the color incompatibility problem. History of Philosophy Quarterly, 7(3), 353-365.
Maslow, A. (1961). A study in Wittgenstein's Tractatus. University of California Press.
Medina, J. (2002). The unity of Wittgenstein’s philosophy: Necessity, intelligibility, and normativity. State University of New York Press.
Morris, M. (2008). Routledge philosophy guidebook to Wittgenstein and the Tractatus. Routledge.
Nowak, S. (2015). Wittgenstein 1929–1930 – Problem dwóch kolorów w tym samym miejscu. Diametros, 43, 118-136. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.43.2015.720
Ramsey, F. P. (1923). Critical notice of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. Mind, 32(128), 465-478. https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/XXXII.128.465
Shanker, S. (1987). Wittgenstein and the turning point in the philosophy of mathematics. State University of New York Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315823492
Sievert, D. (1989). Another look at Wittgenstein on color exclusion. Synthese, 78(3), 291-318. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00869352
Wittgenstein, L. (1961). Tractatus logico-philosophicus (D. F. Pears & B. F. McGuinness, Trans.). Routledge. (Original work published 1921).
Wittgenstein, L. (1961). Notebooks 1914–1916 (G. H. von Wright & G. E. M. Anscombe, Eds.; G. E. M. Anscombe, Trans.). Blackwell.
Wittgenstein, L. (1975). Philosophical remarks (R. Rhees, Ed.; A. Kenny, Trans.). Basil Blackwell. (Original work published 1964).
Wittgenstein, L. (1993). Some remarks on logical form. In J. Klagge & A. Nordmann (Eds.), Philosophical occasions 1912-1951 (pp. 29-35). Hackett. (Original work published 1929).

  • Receive Date 04 May 2025
  • Accept Date 27 June 2025