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This chapter explores Wittgenstein’s two references to the arts in 4.014. The first is his musical example of the unity of language and the world; the second his allusion to the fairytale The Gold-Children by Brothers Grimm. The chapter argues, first, that Wittgenstein’s early notion of logic incorporates forms that for Kant belong to transcendental aesthetic, namely, space and time. Second, it spells out how this commitment motivates Wittgenstein’s musical example and why it is crucial to draw a distinction between transcendental form and empirical structures made possible by that form. Finally, the chapter argues, pace Peter Sullivan, that the unity of language and the world is guaranteed by the metaphysical subject as their common origin. If the fairytale is read as a condensed illustration of Wittgenstein’s position, then this common origin is signified by a golden fish.
This Element argues that aesthetics broadly conceived plays a significant role in Wittgenstein's philosophy. In doing so, it draws on the interpretative tradition that emphasizes affinities between Wittgenstein's thought and Kant's philosophy. Following the chronology of Wittgenstein's philosophical work, this Element addresses Wittgenstein's early equation between ethics and aesthetics, his middle-period discussion on the normative character of aesthetic judgments and the possibility of their justification, and his later comparison between language and music. As a whole, it traces a continuous line of thought pertaining to a non-conceptual form of encounter with reality, which is developed in close conjunction with aesthetics and contributes to Wittgenstein's understanding of language and the method of philosophy throughout his career.