Why your language can never be perfectly precise, no matter how hard you try.
In short: Friedrich Waismann, a key figure of the Vienna Circle, identified a fundamental flaw in human communication: open texture. He argued that empirical terms are inherently porous, meaning they remain indeterminate in unforeseen circumstances. Even with rigorous definitions, language cannot account for every possible future reality, leaving our concepts forever incomplete.
Friedrich Waismann (1896–1959) was an Austrian mathematician and philosopher who became a central figure in the Vienna Circle. Educated in Vienna under Moritz Schlick, he spent his later career as a lecturer at Oxford. His intellectual journey was deeply intertwined with Ludwig Wittgenstein; from 1929 to 1932, Waismann recorded extensive meetings with Wittgenstein, attempting to codify his philosophy. However, Waismann eventually grew disillusioned, accusing Wittgenstein of obscurantism and betraying the empirical foundations of logical positivism.
Waismann’s most enduring contribution is the concept of 'open texture'—or 'die Porosität der Begriffe' (the porosity of concepts). He observed that the rules governing ordinary language are designed for familiar situations, not for radical, unexpected contingencies. Because we cannot predict every future scenario, our words remain indeterminate. As Simon Blackburn illustrated, the term 'mother' seems clear until technological advances separate the roles of egg donor, surrogate carrier, and primary caregiver. In such cases, the term simply lacks the precision to provide a definitive answer.
This idea has had significant influence beyond pure philosophy, particularly in legal theory. H. L. A. Hart famously adopted the concept in 'The Concept of Law' to explain the inherent vagueness of legal language. While some critics argue that Waismann’s focus on extraordinary cases limits its practical utility compared to Hart’s application to mundane norms, the core insight remains: empirical language is not a closed system. No matter how much we attempt to sharpen our definitions, an indefinite number of possibilities will always remain where the application of a term is uncertain.
Waismann’s work spanned mathematics and logic, where he famously argued that mathematical truths are conventional rather than necessarily verifiable. Despite a life marked by personal tragedy—including the suicides of his wife and only child—Waismann continued to challenge the limits of analytic philosophy. His legacy persists in the ongoing debate over how language interacts with a world that is constantly evolving in ways our current vocabulary cannot fully capture.
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