Here the ‘conclusion’ of an inductive proof [i.e., “what is to be proved” (PR §164)] uses ‘\(m\)’ rather than ‘\(n\)’ to indicate that ‘\(m\)’ stands for any particular number, while ‘\(n\)’ stands for any arbitrary number. For Wittgenstein, the proxy statement “\(\phi(m)\)” is not a mathematical proposition that “assert[s] its generality” (PR §168), it is an eliminable pseudo-proposition standing proxy for the proved inductive base and inductive step. Though an inductive proof cannot prove “the