Family resemblance

The notion 'family resemblance' is mostly associated with Wittgenstein's conception of language-game. The locus classicus of the elucidation of the notion family resemblance is found in the Philosophical Investigations (PI, $65-71). This notion is introduced and clarified primarily with reference to the concept of game. The following discussions will elucidate how 'family-resemblance' is understood with reference to the analysis of the concept of 'game'.

The concept of game is closely connected with the theory of meaning as use. According to Wittgenstein, meaning of a word is the role that plays in the calculus of a sentence. This he says by comparing a chess piece in the game of chess, i.e., how a chess piece moves in the chess-game. The term 'game' according to Wittgenstein is a family-likeness term (PG 75). He says that the feature of game can share with language-game. Even though not all games have similar rules, but the function of rules in many games has similarities. It is like the function of rules in a language. Thus, the function of language can be regarded as 'language-game'. The study of language-game is the study of primitive forms of language or primitive language.

The concept of meaning may be described with a primitive idea of the way language functions. In this regard Wittgenstein gives an example of an assistant and how he understands his master's words in constructing a building. There is a prior understanding between the assistant and the master which helps the assistant to understand what his master says.

Let us imagine a language which serves the purpose for the communication between a builder A and his helper B to construct a building. A is building with building stones: there are blocks, pillars, slabs and beams. B has to pass the stones, and that in the order in which A needs them. For this purpose they use a language consisting of the words 'block', 'pillar', 'slab', 'beam'. A calls them out; - B brings the stone which he has learnt to bring at such-and-such a call- conceive this as a complete primitive language (Schulte, 2004,26).