Seeing the meanings: Wittgenstein and Köhler

The attention paid by Wittgenstein to Köhler and the great themes of the Gestalt tradition has been significant since the Forties of the twentieth century. But Wittgenstein’s publicity was rather negative, as the Austrian philosopher has often considerably distorted and simplified the positions taken on by Gestaltism. This aspect also concerns the problem of seeing the meanings. In this paper I will try to show that Köhler’s stance in this respect is far different than the substantially trivial and simplistic one that had been attributed to him through Wittgenstein.