The
Bedeutung of a
proposition is the fact that corresponds
to it, e.g., if our
proposition be aRb, if
it's true, the corresponding fact would be the fact
aRb, if false, the fact ~aRb.
But both “the fact aRb” &
“the fact ~aRb” are incomplete symbols,
which must be analysed.
That a
proposition has a relation (in wide
sense) to Reality, other than that of Bedeutung, is
shewn by the fact that you can understand it when you don't
know the Bedeutung, i.e.
don't know whether it's true or false.
Let us express this by saying “It has
sense” (Sinn).
In
analysing Bedeutung, you come upon Sinn, as
follows:–
We want to explain the
relation of
propositions to
reality.
The relation is as follows:
Its
simples have meaning =
are names of simples; & its relations
have a quite different relation to relations; & these 2
facts already establish a sort of correspondence between
a
proposition
which contains
them || these &
only these & reality: i.e. if all
the simples of a
proposition are known, we
already know that we
can describe reality by saying that it
behaves in a certain way to the whole proposition.
[This amounts to saying that we can
compare reality
with the
proposition. In the case of 2
lines we can
compare them in respect of their length without
any convention & the comparison is automatic. But
in our case the possibility of comparison depends upon the conventions
by which we have given meanings to our simples (names &
relations).]
It only remains to fix the method
of comparison, by saying
what || about our simples is to
say what about reality.
E.g. suppose we take 2 lines of unequal
length; & say that the fact that the shorter is of the length
it is is to mean that
¤ the longer is of the length
it
is: we should then have established a convention as to the
meaning of the shorter of the sort we are now to give
it
. From this it results that
‘true’ & ‘false’ are not
accidental properties of a
proposition,
such that, when it has meaning, we can say it is
also true
or false: on the contrary to have meaning
means to be
true or false;
i.e. that reality is true or
false to it. the being true or false
actually constitutes the relation of the
proposition to reality,
which we mean by saying that it has
meaning. (
Sinn)