--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ludwig Wittgenstein once said that names…" description: "\"Ludwig Wittgenstein once said that names are the only things that exist in the world. Maybe that's true, but the problem is that as time passes by, nam..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/victor-pelevin-18013_don-t-change_ludwig-wittgenstein-once-said-that-names_2368058.jpg" --- # Ludwig Wittgenstein once said that names are the only… ![“Ludwig Wittgenstein once said that names are the only things that exist in the world. Maybe that's true, but the problem is that as time passes by, names do not remain the same - even if they don't change.” quote by Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/victor-pelevin-18013_don-t-change_ludwig-wittgenstein-once-said-that-names_2368058.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/victor-pelevin-18013_don-t-change_ludwig-wittgenstein-once-said-that-names_2368058.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/victor-pelevin-18013_don-t-change_ludwig-wittgenstein-once-said-that-names_2368058.jpg) > “Ludwig Wittgenstein once said that names are the only things that exist in the world. Maybe that's true, but the problem is that as time passes by, names do not remain the same - even if they don't change.” [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Names are our mental constructs that change over time, challenging the idea of fixed reality. **In simple terms:** Names shift, so reality is fluid. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about permanence. Themes philosophy language identity relativism Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - academic discourse - personal reflection - creative writing - cultural analysis Key Concepts semiotics ontology temporal change Questions to Reflect On - How do changing names affect personal identity? - Can we ever know something beyond its label? A Different Perspective Names alone cannot capture the full essence of things. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Don't change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-t-change/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“The aspects of things that are most important for us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity. -Ludwig Wittgenstein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-thomsen-brits/the-aspects-of-things-that-are-most-important-for-us-are-hidden-3/) [Louisa Thomsen Brits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-thomsen-brits/) > [“It is difficult to deviate from an old line of thought 'just a little'. The radical departure is easier than the subtle deviation." Ludwig…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-byall/it-is-difficult-to-deviate-from-an-old-line-of-thought-just-a-little/) Paul Byall > [“An even more important philosophical contact was with the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, who began as my pupil and ended as my supplanter at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/an-even-more-important-philosophical-contact-was-with-the-austrian/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Everything that can be thought at all can be thought clearly. Everything that can be said can be said clearly. Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/everything-that-can-be-thought-at-all-can-be-thought-clearly-2/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“Philosophy is that activity by which the meaning of propositions is established or discovered; it is a question of what the propositions actually mean.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moritz-schlick/philosophy-is-that-activity-by-which-the-meaning-of-propositions-is/) Moritz Schlick > [“ But are there philosophical problems? The present position of English philosophy - my point of departure - originates, I believe, in the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-r-popper/but-are-there-philosophical-problems-the-present-position-of-english/) [Karl R. Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-r-popper/) > [“ He was of the opinion... that his ideas were generally misunderstood and distorted even by those who professed to be his disciples. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-henrik-von-wright/he-was-of-the-opinion-that-his-ideas-were-generally-misunderstood-and/) Georg Henrik von Wright > [The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once remarked that if you ask a man how much is two plus two and he tells you five, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/the-philosopher-ludwig-wittgenstein-once-remarked-that-if-you-ask-a/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [“If a lion could talk, we could not understand him,' the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once said. 'It's clear that Wittgenstein hadn't spent much time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gray/if-a-lion-could-talk-we-could-not-understand-him-the-philosopher/) [John Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gray/) > [“A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that's unlocked and opens inwards; as long as it does not occur to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-council/a-man-will-be-imprisoned-in-a-room-with-a-door-that-s-unlocked-and/) [Aaron Council](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-council/) > [“Said in reference to Ludwig Wittgenstein: "Talent is like the marksman who hits a target which others cannot reach; genius is like the marksman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/said-in-reference-to-ludwig-wittgenstein-talent-is-like-the-marksman/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“All the faces on the photographs have changed, To not confuse it all, the names remain the same”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antimatter-ghosts/all-the-faces-on-the-photographs-have-changed-to-not-confuse-it-all/) Antimatter - ghosts > [“But I shall transmit their names far down the ages. These names alone will remain in the future, divested of their objects. Who, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/but-i-shall-transmit-their-names-far-down-the-ages-these-names-alone/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [“Information is the atmosphere—what the philosopher Luciano Floridi calls the infosphere—of our lives.7 But the fact that we live in the infosphere, that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-p-lynch/information-is-the-atmosphere-what-the-philosopher-luciano-floridi/) [Michael P. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-p-lynch/) > [“If we are talking about the victory over evil and the launch of new creation, it won’t make much sense unless we are working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/if-we-are-talking-about-the-victory-over-evil-and-the-launch-of-new/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) ## More by Victor Pelevin > [There's a scientific hypothesis that every person's name is a primary suggestive command that contains the entire script of their life in highly concentrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/there-s-a-scientific-hypothesis-that-every-person-s-name-is-a-primary/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“Right in the centre was a tall bell tower of white stone, from which long ago some princess had leapt onto the stones below,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/right-in-the-centre-was-a-tall-bell-tower-of-white-stone-from-which/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“I think the first glimpse of my true personality was the moment when I realised I could aspire beyond the thin blue film of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/i-think-the-first-glimpse-of-my-true-personality-was-the-moment-when/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [How can non-existence get sick of itself? Everytime you wake up, you appear again out of nowhere. And so does everything else. Death just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/how-can-non-existence-get-sick-of-itself-everytime-you-wake-up-you/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“In itself a wall on which a panoramic view of a non-existent world is drawn does not change. But for a great deal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/in-itself-a-wall-on-which-a-panoramic-view-of-a-non-existent-world-is/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“Comrades in the struggle! The position of modern man is not merely lamentable; one might even say that there is no condition, because man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/comrades-in-the-struggle-the-position-of-modern-man-is-not-merely/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [I am closest of all to happiness—although I won’t attempt to define just what it is—when I turn away from the window and am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/i-am-closest-of-all-to-happiness-although-i-won-t-attempt-to-define/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“I and this entire world are nothing but a thought someone is thinking,” the bear said in a quiet voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/i-and-this-entire-world-are-nothing-but-a-thought-someone-is-thinking/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“My youthful dreams of the future were born from the gentle sadness of those evenings, far removed from the rest of life, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/my-youthful-dreams-of-the-future-were-born-from-the-gentle-sadness-of/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [There are no philosophical problems, there is only a suite of interconnected linguistic cul de sacs created by language's inability to reflect the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/there-are-no-philosophical-problems-there-is-only-a-suite-of/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“Of course, you don't turn into a shit just because you buy a Mercedes-600. It's the other way round: the reason you can afford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/of-course-you-don-t-turn-into-a-shit-just-because-you-buy-a-mercedes/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“...what are they but the voice of history multiplied by millions of televisions?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/what-are-they-but-the-voice-of-history-multiplied-by-millions-of/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [The author's opinions do not necessarily coincide with his point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/the-author-s-opinions-do-not-necessarily-coincide-with-his-point-of/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“I was aware that I was on the moon, but the immense distance separating me from the earth was a pure abstraction for me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/i-was-aware-that-i-was-on-the-moon-but-the-immense-distance/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) > [“The USSR, which they'd begun to renovate and improve at about the time when Tatarsky decided to change his profession, improved so much that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-pelevin/the-ussr-which-they-d-begun-to-renovate-and-improve-at-about-the-time/) [Victor Pelevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) [Explore all 28 Victor Pelevin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-pelevin/) ## More Don't change quotes > [Often we don't change because we're afraid of what might happen. We cling to what we recognize, even if we are steeped in suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isha-judd/often-we-don-t-change-because-we-re-afraid-of-what-might-happen-we/) [Isha Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isha-judd/) > [Anybody who says that money don't change you - they only say that because they don't make enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/anybody-who-says-that-money-don-t-change-you-they-only-say-that/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [If you talk about change but don't change the reward and recognition system, nothing changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allaire/if-you-talk-about-change-but-don-t-change-the-reward-and-recognition/) Paul Allaire > [I told my friend - we were working on a movie together - and he gave me a script and asked me to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karla-souza/i-told-my-friend-we-were-working-on-a-movie-together-and-he-gave-me-a/) [Karla Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karla-souza/) > [I don't change. The things around me change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/i-don-t-change-the-things-around-me-change/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [Don't change the world, change worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-of-assisi/don-t-change-the-world-change-worlds/) [Francis of Assisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-of-assisi/) > [If we don't change, millions of American families are just one medical emergency, or one layoff, away from financial disaster and bankruptcy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/if-we-don-t-change-millions-of-american-families-are-just-one-medical/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [If we don't change, if the egoic consciousness continues, I don't believe that humanity as a species can survive, or at least human civilization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/if-we-don-t-change-if-the-egoic-consciousness-continues-i-don-t/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We don't change as we get older - we just get to be more of what we've always been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/we-don-t-change-as-we-get-older-we-just-get-to-be-more-of-what-we-ve/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Why do people stop developing, or, like they stop the way you can rate their, psychologically, their development? Where they stop, and just from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edie-sedgwick/why-do-people-stop-developing-or-like-they-stop-the-way-you-can-rate/) [Edie Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edie-sedgwick/) > [Times have changed, but people don't change. That's why ON THE ROAD has never been irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/times-have-changed-but-people-don-t-change-that-s-why-on-the-road-has/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [Of course, it’s true that sometimes the pink at sunrise somehow seems brighter than the pink at sunset, and that when you’re feeling down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/of-course-it-s-true-that-sometimes-the-pink-at-sunrise-somehow-seems/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [Your race and gender don't change, but you can choose to change your political affiliation at will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/your-race-and-gender-don-t-change-but-you-can-choose-to-change-your/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [If we don't change the direction we are headed, we will end up where we are going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/if-we-don-t-change-the-direction-we-are-headed-we-will-end-up-where/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [But it turns out that people who are grounded and secure don't change much under stress. That's what being grounded means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gruber/but-it-turns-out-that-people-who-are-grounded-and-secure-don-t-change/) [Michael Gruber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gruber/) [Browse all 227 Don't change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-t-change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ludwig Wittgenstein once said that names are the only things that exist in the world. 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