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Reference.org
Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language
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<p><i>Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language</i> is a 1982 book by <a href="/facts/Philosopher_of_language/qwNCwF4W">philosopher of language</a> <a href="/facts/Saul_Kripke/qEkI8qW8">Saul Kripke</a> in which he contends that the central argument of <a href="/facts/Ludwig_Wittgenstein/wN9bAgMz">Ludwig Wittgenstein</a>'s <i><a href="/facts/Philosophical_Investigations/oBDcjWuP">Philosophical Investigations</a></i> centers on a skeptical rule-following paradox that undermines the possibility of our ever following rules in our use of language. Kripke writes that this paradox is "the most radical and original skeptical problem that philosophy has seen to date" (p. 60). He argues that Wittgenstein does not reject the argument that leads to the rule-following paradox, but accepts it and offers a "skeptical solution" to alleviate the paradox's destructive effects. </p>