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A Short Introduction to Wittgenstein’s Private Language Argument

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2025

Stephen Law
Stephen Law*
Affiliation:
Department of Continuing Education, University of Oxford, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: stephen.law@conted.ox.ac.uk
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Abstract

Wittgenstein’s Private Language Argument is one of the most famous arguments in philosophy. It is a surprisingly tricky argument to understand. Some philosophers think it’s a good argument. Others disagree. In fact they even disagree about what the argument actually is. This short essay gives three different interpretations of the argument and explains why I believe none succeed.

Keywords

Wittgensteinprivate language argumentmindlanguage
Type
Research Article
Information
Think , Volume 24 , Issue 69 , Spring 2025 , pp. 11 - 18
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Royal Institute of Philosophy.

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