Rule-Following and the Problem of Interpretation: A Study in the Light of Wittgenstein's Philosophy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2025.v10.n5.022Keywords:
Wittgenstein, rule-following, interpretation, skepticism, language-games, meaning, epistemologyAbstract
This paper provides a comprehensive examination of the problem of rule-following and interpretation in Ludwig Wittgenstein's later philosophy, primarily focusing on Philosophical Investigations (1953). The study investigates how rules acquire normative force despite their inherent interpretative flexibility, analyzing Wittgenstein's dissolution of the skeptical paradox through his concepts of language-games, forms of life, and communal practices. Engaging with major interpretations by Kripke (1982), McDowell (1984), and Baker & Hacker (1984), the paper demonstrates how Wittgenstein's approach fundamentally reorients our understanding of meaning, epistemology, and linguistic practice. The analysis concludes by exploring contemporary applications in epistemology, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence research.
References
Baker, G.P., and P.M.S. Hacker. 1984. Scepticism, Rules and Language. Oxford: Blackwell.
Bloor, David. 1997. Wittgenstein, Rules and Institutions. London: Routledge.
Brandom, Robert. 1994. Making It Explicit. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Dreyfus, H. (1972). What Computers Can't Do. MIT Press.
Fogelin, Robert. 1987. Wittgenstein. 2nd ed. London: Routledge.
Gallagher, S. (2017). Enactivist Interventions. Oxford University Press.
Goodman, Nelson. 1955. Fact, Fiction, and Forecast. Cambridge, MA: Harvard.
Haugeland, J. (1998). Having Thought. Harvard University Press.
Hutto, Daniel, and Erik Myin. 2013. Radicalizing Enactivism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Kripke, Saul. 1982. Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard.
McDowell, John. 1984. "Wittgenstein on Following a Rule." Synthese 58:325-363.
Millikan, R. (1984). Language, Thought and Other Biological Categories. MIT Press.
Moyal-Sharrock, Danièle. 2004. Understanding Wittgenstein's On Certainty. London: Palgrave.
Pritchard, D. (2016). Epistemic Angst. Princeton University Press
Wittgenstein, Ludwig. 1953. Philosophical Investigations. Translated by G.E.M. Anscombe. Oxford: Blackwell.
Wright, Crispin. 2001. Rails to Infinity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
