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Questions tagged [private-language]

23 questions
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How would Wittgenstein respond to Functionalist accounts of consciousness?

So far, I've only been able to dig up a partial footnote by Kripke in his essay "Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language" where he tantalizingly writes that "... Wittgenstein would regard his remarks on machines as applicable to 'functionalism'…
Ryder
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Why is private language an incoherent idea?

The fact that I have no problem imagining a private language probably implies that I don't understand the notion of private language. My understanding is private language is a language understandable by only a single individual. Is it a claim…
Ahmed Abdullah
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Explaining "saying vs. showing" in Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

When thinking about the distinction between saying and showing in Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, I'm reminded of the "dictionary game" where you attempt to define a word by using other words ... and then those words,…
RobertF
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What's the core argument in Kripke’s “Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language”?

I’ve had a first light read of Kripkenstein and want to work through identifying what the key claims are. The text is relatively short, and appears to be structured as: Introduction. A warm-up. The Problem: justifying why the central paradox is…
Julius Hamilton
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How serious are believers in the private language argument?

From time to time I come across people who endorse Wittgenstein's notion that language is a fundamentally public activity, and that a private language would be meaningless. I always feel somewhat incredulous at these claims. To me it seems obvious…
causative
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Review articles on the rule-following paradox

Except for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) article on private language, I am having a hard time finding review articles (or book chapters) on the rule-following paradox. What review articles should I read? I want articles that present…
Gandam
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What exactly is a private language defined as?

I'm reading this section: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_language_argument What a private language is "If someone were to behave as if they understood a language of which no one else can make sense, we might call this an example of a private…
Ameet Sharma
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Is all language meaningful?

Wittgenstein claimed that many philosophers misuse language and write nonsense. He later claimed that a private language, one that cannot in principle be understood, is impossible. Does that suggest that the language of philosophy is meaningful and…
user38026
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How does Wittgenstein think language is acquired?

Wittgenstein is critical of the 'private linguist' and his exclusive use of the ostensive definition, where the definition provided for a given word is an example or a 'pointing out' of what the word might refer to. But it would seem that the…
Mos
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Given Wittgenstein's characterisation of language as essentially public, can he characterise what form thinking takes?

According to Wittgenstein, language is an essentially public activity between minds; and language is structured by a grammar so that this communication can indeed occur. I think, the notion of language is equivalent to grammar (a structuring); as…
Mozibur Ullah
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Arguments in defense of Private Language?

Is it the case that the beetle in the box does not play any role in our…? Or do similar neurological constituents and identical physical input contribute to the experience of 'pain' in a Kantian manner, where each individual possesses their unique…
AnduinWilde
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Wittgenstein maintains language is public, can this be correct?

I come into the world where other beings are using language. I learn this. Those beings have come into the world where other beings are using language. They learn it. Those other beings come into the world, etc. This is not an infinite regress, as…
Mozibur Ullah
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Does the private language argument conflict with monotheism?

This blog post opposes the PLA to unitarianism (the belief in only one divine person), which is mostly a parochial, intra-Christian objection that, if generalized over other religions, seems like it would mean tension between the PLA and monotheism…
user40843
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The private language argument and Descartes's private thoughts

In his "Thinking it Through" textbook, Appiah writes It is a big step from saying that some of our mental states are things that other people can know about, to saying, with the behaviorists, that all of them must be in this way public. Yet one of…
EE18
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Does Wittgenstein's Private Language Argument (PLA) commit the fallacy of question begging?

Following up from a question I previously posted, does the following objection quoted from Solomon Radley's blog, succeed in showing that the argument begs the question? It looks like the PLA is question begging. Generally, a reductio …
Nathan Cronauer
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