Words...what do they really mean?

January 21, 2005

Good day mates!

Okay, so I have been reading lots of philosophical studies and came across

a rather interesting individual. Wittgenstein...mainly his works attracted

me because of the nature of the writing as well as the content. He contends

that we use language in symbolic ways...but a step further that we actually

use them in language games. I have always been intrigues by the fact that

words may have multiple meaning and have certain rules that they must

follow...sentence structure, grammatical natures.....well, with his

assertions that words can be void of meaning, have direct meaning, be

combined to create meaning and yet still provide meaning to things which

exist yet which also may not exist. Wittgenstein says that the failure to

understand words, or the failure to use words clearly, may often be caused

by misunderstanding of how words are used in a language-game. Failure to

communicate clearly can be caused by the use of words which have an unclear

or indefinite meaning, or by lack of understanding of the relation between

the meaning of words and the way in which they are used. The task of

philosophy may be to clarify the uses of language, and to assemble these

directions for usage or a means of reminding in concerning how rules are

applied to language. He also argues that the uses or meaning of words may

change. This can occur according to changes in the circumstances and scene

of a language-game. To use words meaningfully, people must decide which

language-game they want to play, and how they want to play it. He explains

that when people communicate with each other, they may have to choose

between a private language and a common language. The rules of a private

language may not be the same as the rules of a common language.

I wonder if this sort of differentiation in language and communication

might not lead to a better understanding of the differences in AS

communication and NT communication....sort of like a common vs a private

language and this form of communicating to our own set of rules and

regulations vs a more common one. I'm not sure if I am making sense with

what I want to say...but giving it a go....Thoughts anyone?

Cheerio,

Martka

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