Grammar, expressiveness, and inter-subjective meanings : Wittgenstein's philosophy of psychology

How do we learn, use, and understand the meaning of words representing sensations? How is the connection between words and sensations structured? How can outward signs of sensations be manifested? What does it mean “to understand someone”? Is semantics affected by inner states? What does one mean when one uses an expression to describe a sensation? How should such success in communication be defined? Grammar, Expressiveness, and Inter-subjective Meanings: Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Psychology deals with these questions, examining the peculiar uses of language-games representing sensations (such as “thinking”, “seeing such-and-such”, and “I’m in pain”) and exploring outer references to inner states. Externalising something internal gives expression to the psychological experience. As such, an expression should be understood as a sophisticated form of exteriorising experiences. This book clarifies the use of sense-expressions and the praxis of “bringing to expression” as an inter-subjective meaning process. The central focus of the book entails both the outwardness of language and the inwardness of experience, as was intensively remarked by Wittgenstein’s last writings (namely his lectures from 1946–47, exclusively and remarkably concerning the philosophy of psychology), which were recently published and which, despite their importance and originality, are still little known. How do we learn, use, and understand the meaning of words representing sensations? How is the connection between words and sensations structured? How can outward signs of sensations be manifested? What does it mean to understand someone ? Is semantics affected by inner states? What does one mean when one uses an expression to describe a sensation? How should such success in communication be defined? Grammar, Expressiveness, and Inter-subjective Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Psychology deals with these questions, examining the peculiar uses of language-games representing sensations (such as thinking , seeing such-and-such , and I'm in pain ) and exploring outer references to inner states. Externalising something internal gives expression to the psychological experience. As such, an expression should be understood as a sophisticated form of exteriorizing experiences. This book clarifies the use of sense-expressions and the praxis of bringing to expression as an inter-subjective meaning process. The central focus of the book entails both the outwardness of language and the inwardness of experience, as was intensively remarked by Wittgenstein's last writings (namely his lectures from 1946 47, exclusively and remarkably concerning the philosophy of psychology), which were recently published and which, despite their importance and originality, are still little known. Table of Contents 8 Editorial Conventions 10 List of Abbreviations in References to Works by Wittgenstein 12 Introduction 14 Chapter One 46 1.1. The therapeutic aim in philosophy 47 1.2. The philosophy of psychology as a grammatical investigation 54 1.3. Wittgensteinian genealogy of linguistic expression 65 Chapter Two 72 2.1. From Shopenhauerian solipsism in TLP to “I” and “will”criticism in PI 73 2.2. The meaning from naming to using 83 2.3. Wittgenstein against the “I” as grammatical and solipsisticprivilege 94 2.3.1. Wittgenstein on the “I” 95 2.3.2. Solipsism vs. grammar 105 2.3.3. What did the solipsist not know? 107 Chapter Three 114 3.1. Expression and impression 115 3.2. Expression and description 126 3.3. Expression and dissimulation 138 Chapter Four 146 4.1. Experience of meaning 148 4.2. The meaning of an aspect 155 4.3. The “meaning-blindness” concept 168 Chapter Five 186 5.1. The expression of expectations 187 5.2. The philosophical grammar of the word “pain” 199 5.3. What does “to understand a word” mean? 211 5.4. Language as form of life 216 Concluding Remarks 236 Appendix A 252 Appendix B 258 Bibliography 276 Notes 290 Index of Names 300 Index of Subjects 302 Paulo M. Barroso. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.