Understanding and Rule Following

Paper Summary:

This paper is a study of the sections of Ludwig Wittgenstein's "Logical Investigations" concerning understanding and rule following, placing these sections in context as preparatory to the private language argument.

From the Paper:

"So what is the connection between understanding and rule following? Firstly; neither understanding nor abiding by a rule is a private experience; understanding is not a mental state and acceptance of a rule is parallel to entering the community that lives in accordance with that rule. Secondly; understanding is secondary to rule following, it is dependant upon rule following; a person can only be understood if he uses language in accordance with the communal rules for language usage, if he does not follow these rules then the language he speaks is a private one and is devoid of meaning for the meaning of words comes through the learning experience of use and correction, an experience that cannot be private. Obviously, a person cannot teach himself rules that he does not know."

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