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The Private Language Argument

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Part of the book series: Synthese Library ((SYLI,volume 172))

Abstract

In the past twenty one years the possibility or impossibility of a private language has been discussed with a certain degree of obsession. The name “Private Language Argument”1 covers a multiplicity of different issues. Some philosophers want to see in the PLA a paradigm of philosophical argument with devastating consequences for the Cartesian Thesis on the Philosophy of Mind and the Metaphysics of Persons;2 others only see obscure statements that in no case make an argument or a definite point.

Originally published in Crítica, Revista Latinoamericana de Filosofía 7 (1975). The first part is translated in its entirety (with minor alterations). For reasons of space, only a summary of the second part is given.

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References

  1. A. J. Ayer, “Can There Be a Private Language?” in O. R. Jones, ed., The Private Language Argument ( New York: Macmillan, 1971 ), p. 277.

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  2. J. Cook, “Wittgenstein on Privacy,” in G. Pitcher, Wittgenstein: The Philosophical Investigations ( New York: Maonillan, 1968 ), p. 289–96.

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  3. C. Ginet, “Wittgenstein’s Argument That One Cannot Obey a Rule Privately,” Nous (1970), p. 363.

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© 1984 D. Reidel Publishing Company

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Villanueva, E. (1984). The Private Language Argument. In: Garcia, J.J.E., Rabossi, E., Villanueva, E., Dascal, M. (eds) Philosophical Analysis in Latin America. Synthese Library, vol 172. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6375-7_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6375-7_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-009-6377-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-6375-7

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