Meaning, Rationality, and Guidance

Abstract

In Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language, Saul Kripke articulates a form of scepticism about meaning. Even though there is considerable disagreement among critics about the reasoning in which the sceptic engages, there is little doubt that he seeks to offer constraints for an adequate account of the facts that constitute the meaningfulness of expressions. Many of the sceptic's remarks concern the nature of the guidance involved in a speaker's meaningful uses of expressions. I propose that we understand those remarks as seeking to give shape to the idea that to use an expression under the guidance of one's understanding is to have a reason for that use, which one's understanding allows one to discern and act on. Any philosophical elucidation of meaning must adequately capture the rational nature of our linguistic acts.

Rule‐Following II: Recent Work and New Puzzles

“…131‐132, Miller, 2019, pp. 745‐749, Sultanescu, 2022). However, she retains a weaker analog of it: namely, that an answer to the skeptical challenge has to make sense of the difference between automata and us qua language users who use language or concepts with “understanding” and thus not blindly (Ginsborg, 2012, pp.…”

“…8‐10; 62; Miller, 2019, pp. 745‐749; Sultanescu, 2022; Merino‐Rajme, 2015, p. 170). As we saw in the first part, Kripkenstein's arguments against dispositionalism, the experiential state view, and the Fregean sense view rely centrally on this constraint.…”

“Rule‐Following I: The Basic Issues”

“…Usually, when we're faced with ‘68 + 57 = x ’, we feel like it's the meaning of ‘plus’ together with the calculation we perform that guides us in answering 125. The answer to the skeptic must make clear how the fact that my meaning addition by ‘plus’ consists in can guide me and make it linguistically justified by my own lights, from the inside (for recent discussion see Ginsborg, 2022 , Sultanescu, 2022 ). 5 We can call this the Guidance constraint, and it should be immediately clear that it is much more plausible for language use and intentional rule‐following than representation and non‐intentional rule‐following.…”

Teaching tool codified gestures - Can more people learn more? Experiences with the Earth Speakr app from digital teacher training

“…People communicate with one another and with their environment through linguistic action (Sultanescu, 2023). The simple fact that these messages exist means new perspectives have been added to Earth Speakr 2 , and these digital contributions provide new possibilities to engage with the messages young people have to share.…”