Abstract

One of the most significant contributions of the application of the analytical method in Wittgenstein’s later work consists in the differentiation of the grammatical, semantic, and pragmatic structure of statements in the first and in the third person which express the feelings and experiences of human beings. His analysis aims to show the difference in meaning and understanding between statements of the form “I am depressed” and “Arthur is depressed”. This paper is oriented to show the theoretical implications of Wittgenstein’s study, which validates and legitimizes the specificities of psychiatry and psychology as sciences of different types from that of natural sciences, which are configured according to different language games and require interpretive observation and understanding of the significant expressions of the affective life of human beings, such as language, actions, and symbolic figures. With this analysis, Wittgenstein opens a communication channel between analytical philosophy and hermeneutics for the studies of human beings.