Since Saul Kripke’s paradigmatic reading of rule-following that described standards of meaning in... more Since Saul Kripke’s paradigmatic reading of rule-following that described standards of meaning in the Philosophical Investigations as a radical aporia according to which any given sign is capable of limitless interpretations, Wittgenstein scholars continue to consider whether standards of meaning in the Investigations are incontrovertibly aporetic, or if there is a solution to the Wittgensteinian paradox that allows for objectivity, and the intriguing possibility of semantic realism. Claudine Verheggen is a proponent of this latter position, but I argue that her critical reading of the Investigations is exegetically unsound and does not lead us, as she hopes, to a description of meaning that is ‘robust and illuminating' (Verheggen 2003, 307). Moreover, my position is that to accept Wittgenstein’s aporia does not mean that we must commit to Kripke’s sceptical consequence, nor should we commit to Verheggen’s semantic realist reading. Rather, to accept the aporia is to accept the many different (sometimes contradictory) meaning descriptions, as these contradictory standards of meaning are crucial to Wittgenstein’s overall description of meaning in the Philosophical Investigations.
One of the primary aims of the Tractatus was to use language to draw a coherent picture of the wo... more One of the primary aims of the Tractatus was to use language to draw a coherent picture of the world, and describe this world in detail in the form of propositions written in order
of logical importance. In his stipulations of how this world is to be demarcated, Wittgenstein tells us the elementary proposition is a logical picture that is like a scale
applied to reality (2.16). While there are errors to the Tractarian picture, even admitted by Wittgenstein later in his life, the notion of a scale of reality, or a ruler applied to
reality, presents a theory that is pertinent to the tradition of philosophy of language. In presenting a theory of utility, the proposition as a ruler provides anti-cleavage to the oft-interpreted divide between early and late Wittgenstein. In this paper, I apply this pragmatic interpretation to decipher critical issues to the Tractatus and present a conclusion that incorporates the ruler theory of the Tractatus with Wittgenstein’s later works regarding meaning and use.
Since Saul Kripke’s paradigmatic reading of rule-following that described standards of meaning in... more Since Saul Kripke’s paradigmatic reading of rule-following that described standards of meaning in the Philosophical Investigations as a radical aporia according to which any given sign is capable of limitless interpretations, Wittgenstein scholars continue to consider whether standards of meaning in the Investigations are incontrovertibly aporetic, or if there is a solution to the Wittgensteinian paradox that allows for objectivity, and the intriguing possibility of semantic realism. Claudine Verheggen is a proponent of this latter position, but I argue that her critical reading of the Investigations is exegetically unsound and does not lead us, as she hopes, to a description of meaning that is ‘robust and illuminating' (Verheggen 2003, 307). Moreover, my position is that to accept Wittgenstein’s aporia does not mean that we must commit to Kripke’s sceptical consequence, nor should we commit to Verheggen’s semantic realist reading. Rather, to accept the aporia is to accept the many different (sometimes contradictory) meaning descriptions, as these contradictory standards of meaning are crucial to Wittgenstein’s overall description of meaning in the Philosophical Investigations.
One of the primary aims of the Tractatus was to use language to draw a coherent picture of the wo... more One of the primary aims of the Tractatus was to use language to draw a coherent picture of the world, and describe this world in detail in the form of propositions written in order
of logical importance. In his stipulations of how this world is to be demarcated, Wittgenstein tells us the elementary proposition is a logical picture that is like a scale
applied to reality (2.16). While there are errors to the Tractarian picture, even admitted by Wittgenstein later in his life, the notion of a scale of reality, or a ruler applied to
reality, presents a theory that is pertinent to the tradition of philosophy of language. In presenting a theory of utility, the proposition as a ruler provides anti-cleavage to the oft-interpreted divide between early and late Wittgenstein. In this paper, I apply this pragmatic interpretation to decipher critical issues to the Tractatus and present a conclusion that incorporates the ruler theory of the Tractatus with Wittgenstein’s later works regarding meaning and use.
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of logical importance. In his stipulations of how this world is to be demarcated, Wittgenstein tells us the elementary proposition is a logical picture that is like a scale
applied to reality (2.16). While there are errors to the Tractarian picture, even admitted by Wittgenstein later in his life, the notion of a scale of reality, or a ruler applied to
reality, presents a theory that is pertinent to the tradition of philosophy of language. In presenting a theory of utility, the proposition as a ruler provides anti-cleavage to the oft-interpreted divide between early and late Wittgenstein. In this paper, I apply this pragmatic interpretation to decipher critical issues to the Tractatus and present a conclusion that incorporates the ruler theory of the Tractatus with Wittgenstein’s later works regarding meaning and use.
of logical importance. In his stipulations of how this world is to be demarcated, Wittgenstein tells us the elementary proposition is a logical picture that is like a scale
applied to reality (2.16). While there are errors to the Tractarian picture, even admitted by Wittgenstein later in his life, the notion of a scale of reality, or a ruler applied to
reality, presents a theory that is pertinent to the tradition of philosophy of language. In presenting a theory of utility, the proposition as a ruler provides anti-cleavage to the oft-interpreted divide between early and late Wittgenstein. In this paper, I apply this pragmatic interpretation to decipher critical issues to the Tractatus and present a conclusion that incorporates the ruler theory of the Tractatus with Wittgenstein’s later works regarding meaning and use.