This is Not a Blog Post: Complications for 'Picture' Theories of Representation

One of the main themes of Wittgenstein's Tractatus is that representation (verb abbilden: to depict, to picture; noun Abbildung: image, reproduction, picture) is possible because reality (the world) and language (our picture of the world) share logical structure.  The metaphor that he uses to show this is that a picture shares a logical form with what is pictured.  The elements of a picture are arranged in a structure that is parallel to the way in which the real objects are organized in the world.  This shared structure is not represented in the image.  The shared structure is the relation of representation itself.

Michel Foucault (1926-1984), French 'continental' philosopher and supporter of the Iranian revolution, wrote a collection of essays titled This is Not a Pipe (translated from French).  In the first short essay (just over three pages), Foucault analyzes two paintings from Rene Magritte (shown below).  In this playful, insightful piece, Foucault challenges the notion that there is a logical structure shared by an image and what the image represents.  Access to the article is available on the class website (or with the help of Google).