But what are the simple

elements
components

[f|o]f which reality is

composed
made◇ up

? – What are the simple

elements
components

of a chair? – The pieces of wood out [f|o]f which it is put together? Or the molecules? [o|O]r the electrons? “Simple” means: not

complex
composite

. And th[en|us] it all depends on: in what sense “

complex
composite

”? It

makes no sense
is senseless

to talk about the “simple components of a chair” without qualification. Or: Does my visual

sense datum
image

the visual appearance I get of th[ei|is] tree, or of this chair, consist of parts? [a|A]nd what are its simple components? Being of different colours is

a
one

kind of complexity; another is,

e.g.
for instance

, the composition of this broken

line
contour

out of straight bits. A[d|n]d you

may
might

call this a say that this curve

a complex compound of was made up of an ascending and a descending

branch
part

.
If I say to someone without further explanation, : “What I now see before me is complex”, then he will be quite correct in rightly asking, you: “What do◇ you mean by ‘complex’? Th[at|is]

may
can

mean all sorts of things.” – The question, “Is what you see complex?”, does have meaning if it is already clear what sort of complexity – i.e., what particular kind of use [f|o]f this word – is supposed to be in question we are referring to is in question. If it ha[s|d] been

laid down
settled

e.g.
for instance

, that the visual

appearance
image

of a tree

is to
shall

be called complex if you see not only a trunk but also branches, then the question, “Is the visual appearance of this tree simple or complex?”, and the question, “What are its simple components?”, would have a clear use ˇsense, a clear use. And the answer to the second questionˇ is, of course, is not,: “[T|t]he branches” (this would be an answer to the grammatical question “What d[l|o]es one call do you call here ‘simple components’ here?”) but rather a description of the individual branches.

(2015–) Wittgenstein Source Bergen Nachlass Edition (WS-BNE). Edited by the Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen under the direction of Alois Pichler. In: Wittgenstein Source, curated by Alois Pichler (2009–) and Joseph Wang-Kathrein (2020–). (N) Bergen: WAB.