The philosophy of language and knowledge organization in the 1930s: Pragmatics of Wittgenstein and Ranganathan

Abstract

This paper proposes a histoncal-epistemological study of knowledge organization focused on the 1930s. The main question is the development of a thought-oriented pragmatics of language in the philosophi- cal scene of the period. In distinct foci, the Austnan philosopher Wittgenstein and Indian philosopher Ranganathan discussed epistemo-logical development under the premises of a pragmatics of language. The aim is to propose analysis of the dialogue between the visions of Ranganathan and Wittgenstein in the construction of the possibilities of knowing from the use of language within the 1930s. The method adopted is the "panoramic presentation" of Wittgenstein, based on the analysis of concepts to understand the construction of a grammar within a community of language use. As main results, we draw attention to the potential correlation between the development of the philosophy of language in the 1930s and the construction of an epistemology for the organization of ordinary knowledge. Knowledge organization needs to review recognition of the pragmatic construction throughout the twentieth century as a theoretical assumption for the understanding of a notion of knowledge from the point of view of pragmatics.