Wittgenstein on Rules: Justification, Grammar, and Agreement

James R. Shaw offers a new interpretation of Wittgenstein's treatment of rule-following and semantics, dividing it into two logically distinct projects with different guiding questions and methodologies. This reading resolves internal tensions and reveals Wittgenstein's attention to the blurring of the semantics/metasemantics distinction. Shaw also develops an unusual naive reply to meaning skepticism based on Wittgenstein's work in the foundations of semantics, which he argues is simple, effective, generalizable, and theoretically lightweight.

Format: Hardback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 09 February 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

In his groundbreaking work, "Philosophical Investigations," James R. Shaw presents a novel interpretation of Wittgenstein's treatment of rule-following and the foundations of semantics. This interpretation divides Wittgenstein's remarks into two distinct projects, each guided by different guiding questions, presuppositions, and methodologies. By attributing this bipartite structure to the text, Shaw resolves several internal tensions and reveals Wittgenstein's controversial remarks on human agreement to exhibit a surprising attentiveness to and plausible treatment of the blurring of the semantics/metasemantics distinction arising in Wittgenstein's treatment of foundational semantic questions.

Shaw then delves into an extended engagement with "Kripkensteinean" meaning skepticism. While on this reading, Wittgenstein never countenanced meaning skepticism, Shaw argues that Wittgenstein's work in the foundations of semantics provides the necessary resources to develop an unusual naive reply to the skeptic that has yet to be explored in the literature. Shaw contends that the Wittgensteinean reply is simple, effective, generalizable, and theoretically lightweight, making it accessible to theorists from almost any philosophical stripe.

This interpretation offers a fresh perspective on Wittgenstein's thought and sheds light on the complexities of his treatment of rule-following, semantics, and meaning skepticism. It provides valuable insights into Wittgenstein's philosophical project and encourages further exploration of his ideas by scholars and philosophers alike.

Dimension: 235 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197609989