Philosophy · Family resemblance

Why no single feature makes every 'game' a game

Wittgenstein pointed out that board games, card games, ball games and solitaire share no one trait in common, only a criss-crossing web of overlapping similarities, the way relatives can resemble each other without any single feature shared by the whole family. He argued many everyday categories work the same way: held together by 'family resemblance,' not a strict shared definition.

— Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations — §§65-67, 1953
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