--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What cannot be imagined cannot even be…" description: "\"What cannot be imagined cannot even be talked about.\" — Ludwig Wittgenstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_imagined_what-cannot-be-imagined-cannot-even-be-t_902405.png" --- # What cannot be imagined cannot even be talked about. ![“What cannot be imagined cannot even be talked about.” quote by Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_imagined_what-cannot-be-imagined-cannot-even-be-t_902405.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_imagined_what-cannot-be-imagined-cannot-even-be-t_902405.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/ludwig-wittgenstein-582_imagined_what-cannot-be-imagined-cannot-even-be-t_902405.png) > “What cannot be imagined cannot even be talked about.” [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If something cannot be imagined, it cannot be spoken about. **In simple terms:** Imagination precedes language. Key Takeaway Expand your imagination. Themes language imagination limits Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - problem solving - innovation Key Concepts philosophy cognitive science Questions to Reflect On - What ideas are beyond your imagination? - How can we articulate the unknown? A Different Perspective Imagination can be limited by culture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [It is obvious that an imagined # world , however different it may be from the real one, must have something - a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/it-is-obvious-that-an-imagined-world-however-different-it-may-be-from/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Call your girlfriend. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More by Ludwig Wittgenstein > [“But some of the greatest achievements in philosophy could only be compared with taking up some books which seemed to belong together, and putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/but-some-of-the-greatest-achievements-in-philosophy-could-only-be/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [What can be shown, cannot be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/what-can-be-shown-cannot-be-said/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“This is connected with the conception of naming as a process that is, so to speak, occult. 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If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/death-is-not-an-event-in-life-we-do-not-live-to-experience-death-if/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [I Once wrote: "In mathematics process and result are equivalent."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/i-once-wrote-in-mathematics-process-and-result-are-equivalent/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Philosophy aims at the logical clarification of thoughts. Philosophy is not a body of doctrine but an activity. A philosophical work consists essentially of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/philosophy-aims-at-the-logical-clarification-of-thoughts-philosophy/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“It is clear that ethics cannot be expressed. Ethics are transcendental. (Ethics and æsthetics are one.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/it-is-clear-that-ethics-cannot-be-expressed-ethics-are-transcendental/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) [Explore all 454 Ludwig Wittgenstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) ## More Imagined quotes > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [“Books never cease to astonish me. 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