ABSTRACT. Some commentators have interpreted Wittgenstein's philosophy as a form of deconstruction à la Derrida. I argue that Wittgenstein does indeed have aporetic moments, and Wittgentstein's rejection of a universal Weltbild and his semantic relativism make the thesis of a deconstructive Wittgenstein an attractive proposition. Both Wittgenstein and Derrida could be seen as radical descendants of the phenomenological movement, starting with Husserl, moving through existentialism, and then beyond to deconstruction. There is no ultimate contradiction between Wittgenstein's deconstructive moments and his reconstructive phenomenology of forms of life.