Philosophical Investigations, Chapter 32.
Uploaded by crystalite on Oct 26, 2011
This paper examines Wittengenstein’s objections to St. Augustine’s characterization of the methods of learning language. (4 pages; 1 source; MLA citation style)
I Introduction
German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein describes his work as an “album,” a collection of thoughts about a variety of subjects, including meaning, understanding, logic, and language. (P. ix). He jotted down observations and questions about things that interested him, without attempting to write a book in the traditional sense. The first part of the book is largely concerned with the ways in which we finding meaning in language, and how we know what we mean when we say something; he also wonders how people learn to associate meanings with words, and why the same word has different meanings depending on usage. (These are only a few of the concepts he visits with regard to language.)
This paper discusses Chapter 32 of Wittgenstein’s book with the object of answering these questions: Why does Wittgenstein think that Augustine’s description of language, which he quotes in Chapter 1, compares a child to an adult in a foreign country who understands language, but not the local language? Why does Wittgenstein object to Augustine’s characterization of language in this manner?
To answer these questions, we’ll consider what Wittgenstein has to say about the differences between ostensive teaching of words and ostensive explanation of words; and his thinking in general about words and meanings.
II Discussion
“Ostensive” means “directly pointing out” or “clearly demonstrative.” Someone who teaches words ostensively does not deal in shades of nuance and meaning; he clearly says, this is the word and this is what it means. This is the way in which Augustine defines language, and the way in which one learns language.
St. Augustine says that he learned language by watching his elders, who named some object and moved toward it. “I saw this and I grasped that the thing was called by the sound they uttered when they meant to point it out.” (P. 2e). Augustine continues, saying that the elders showed their intention by the expressions on their faces, their movements, and their tone of voice; all of these mechanisms express “… our state of mind in seeking, having, rejecting or avoiding something.” (P. 2e).
Wittgenstein says that Augustine’s description “gives us a particular picture of the essence of human language … individual words in language name objects … sentences are combinations...