Sunday, 2 November 2025

Language has rules, not just signals.

to speak a language is to participate in a rule-governed social game (Wittgenstein).
solipsism would have to explain where the rule structure comes from.

language involves shared norms; norms require more than one subject; therefore language presupposes at least the concept of other minds.

if solipsism were true you’d have to invent:

  • a whole normative system

  • with self-binding constraints

  • for no reason whatsoever

that is: the very shape and function of language presupposes plurality.

No comments:

“Its time for the people who know how to fix society to stop asking permission to do so”  Bill Mollison