Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) is known for his contributions to philosophical logic and the interpretation of truth tables, and for the use theory of linguistic meaning. He influenced logical positivism, analytic philosophy and natural language philosophy, all important streams in 20th century thought.

Wittgenstein finally rejects the rule-based interpretation of linguistic meaning and its construction, opting instead for a vague and general view of "game" wherein people and societies set up meanings and reach understandings by means of ostensive demonstrations and agreements. These institutions are subject to transformation over time, resulting in nothing more precise for social science than "family resemblences" among various social practices and general "forms of life" in anthropology. The role played by logic in these language games was of particular importance to Wittgenstein, but he repudiated the notion that logic could play the central role in constructing human intuition, human understanding and human meaning.