Tuesday, December 12, 2006

2.15 The elements of a picture's relating to each other in a specific way represents matters relating to each other just so.


Let us call this connection of the elements of a picture its structure, and its possibility the form of representation of the picture [i.e. the form of the picture's picturing].


‘Form of representation’ is what Ogden has, and is accepted by Black (p. 81), although he prefers ‘form of depiction.’ He rejects, though, P&McG’s ‘pictorial form.’


Pictures really are just like states of affairs. Perhaps we should not think of these "pictures" as literal pictures, e.g. paintings, written sentences, etc. Perhaps instead we should think of them as propositions, what sentences express or contain or mean. Then every possible proposition will not only represent but really be a possible state of affairs. To think of literal pictures would then be like confusing sentences with propositions, or metaphysics with logic.

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