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RussellA

['Member']Joined: July 09, 2020 at 15:57Last active: February 22, 2026 at 16:41None discussions2695 comments

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I agree that I must know the difference between a real cup and a fake cup if I say “I see a fake cup”. But I am not doing that. I am saying “I see a c...
February 22, 2026 at 15:12
If I don’t know the meaning of “infinity” I could ask another person. Suppose this other person knows the meaning of “infinity”. How did this other pe...
February 22, 2026 at 15:07
We agree that the meaning of the word “infinity” cannot come from private experience. ================================================================...
February 22, 2026 at 13:08
We can use a “hammer” to knock in a nail because we can pick up a hammer, but have you ever picked up an infinity and been able to use it for anything...
February 22, 2026 at 11:55
Seeing a cup is not proof that the cup exists in the outer world. The cup may only exist in the inner mind. That people see a mirage in the desert is ...
February 22, 2026 at 11:12
We see a cup. I cannot prove it is an illusion or hallucination. You cannot prove it is not an illusion or hallucination. Perhaps scepticism is the on...
February 22, 2026 at 10:26
An interesting question. Where does infinity get its meaning from if no one has ever had the private experience of infinity. =========================...
February 22, 2026 at 10:23
How can seeing a cup be evidence that a cup exists in the world, when your seeing may be an illusion or an hallucination?
February 22, 2026 at 08:15
Exactly, when hearing “what a beautiful xyz”, our first reaction is to ask what “xyz” means. If we don’t know what “xyz” means the expression is meani...
February 21, 2026 at 16:37
What you say leads into a circular argument. You are assuming there are real events in a real world, from which we discover evidence that there are re...
February 21, 2026 at 15:38
Suppose a blind person said “what a beautiful sunset”, which is a possible scenario, even though they have never seen a sunset. Yes, they could be say...
February 21, 2026 at 13:37
How can you prove that you are not hallucinating drinking a cup of coffee?
February 21, 2026 at 13:16
Suppose you think you see a cup. How can you prove that you are not hallucinating a cup?
February 21, 2026 at 12:34
I can deny that ghosts exist. ===================================== Moore says that he knows that here is one hand because he can see one hand. But as...
February 21, 2026 at 11:02
How does Wittgenstein overcome the problem that the expression “I am in pain” would be meaningless if the speaker never had the inner feeling of pain....
February 21, 2026 at 09:37
1) Yes 2) Their own
February 21, 2026 at 09:12
There is a quandary On the one hand, Wittgenstein is effectively saying that hinges are part of the framework of our language, our language game withi...
February 21, 2026 at 09:11
An Indirect Realist and an Idealist would deny the fact that in a mind-independent world there is a hand.
February 20, 2026 at 16:17
If I say “here is one hand”, how do I justify it? Moore says “I know here is one hand because I can see it". But how does he justify what he sees! The...
February 20, 2026 at 09:16
If for example we grow up from babies in a world where every aspect is theist, including language, buildings, events, organisations, then every aspect...
February 19, 2026 at 15:26
Where did I say that a hinge proposition has the property of being indubitable rather than the role of being indubitable? Where did I say that “here i...
February 19, 2026 at 09:17
As I see it, JL Austin’s performative utterance is “I name this ship Queen Elizabeth”. Subsequently we can say “here is the ship Queen Elizabeth”, whe...
February 18, 2026 at 14:34
Maybe we agree that there is no difference between “here is one hand” and “here is one tree”. Either i) if “here is one hand” is a hinge then why isn’...
February 18, 2026 at 13:46
Exactly. I made this point years ago. Every proposition within a coherent language game is in a sense a hinge proposition beyond doubt.
February 18, 2026 at 12:46
In one sense, the proposition “here is one hand” must be a hinge within the coherent language game of which it is a part, otherwise its language game ...
February 18, 2026 at 09:14
Hinge propositions are interesting as part of the framework of our language and as such are beyond doubt. A framework cannot doubt itself. However, so...
February 17, 2026 at 16:08
For Wittgenstein, as regarding hinges: Mathematical propositions are hinges. The personal propositions “I am here” (OC 10) and “the existence of the e...
February 17, 2026 at 09:57
For Wittgenstein, part of Moore’s mistake is in saying “I know here is one hand” rather than “here is one hand”. These hinges are not limited to scien...
February 16, 2026 at 09:10
I think I have been reasonably clear in setting out my understanding where Wittgenstein is correct, incorrect or vague. Understanding has two aspects....
February 15, 2026 at 14:10
:up: This does not sound very Wittgensteinian, who accepted hinge propositions rather than assess them.
February 14, 2026 at 15:13
A useful post I will give my solution to meaning in language, and try to show it answers all of your questions. My solution to meaning in language As ...
February 14, 2026 at 15:00
I am doing the same. I believe the points that I am making are correct, even if no one else agrees. But what else can one do? At the very least I am i...
February 14, 2026 at 09:49
In PI 201 talks about the rule-making paradox, and as you say, grasping a rule is not an interpretation and it is not custom that makes a rule. Howeve...
February 13, 2026 at 17:55
I agree that a hinge is not the same kind of thing as a form of life, but the hinge is crucial to there being a form of life in the first place. =====...
February 13, 2026 at 17:28
Yes, that is when someone says “add 2+2”. That is different to someone saying "2+2=4". ===============================================================...
February 13, 2026 at 16:33
Exactly, my concept of “beetle” must be different to yours because we have lived different lives in different countries and have had different experie...
February 13, 2026 at 16:23
Yes, each language game needs its own rules
February 13, 2026 at 13:04
Yes, the meaning of a word depends on its context. In a zoo, “frog” means “a short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates”, but with one’s wife it cou...
February 13, 2026 at 12:27
Wittgenstein never said that we had no inner feelings. PI 257 What would it be like if human beings shewed no outward signs of pain (did not groan, gr...
February 13, 2026 at 11:37
A child hears their parent say “toy” and sees them pick up a toy. Already the child has a concept of “toy”, because they have heard "toy" and seen a t...
February 13, 2026 at 11:03
This makes sense within a Form of Life, but the philosophical problem is how do we choose between different Forms of Life. Within a Form of Life For a...
February 13, 2026 at 09:40
Suppose we make any rule, which we agree to follow. But we need another rule that we agree to follow the rules. But we need another rule that we agree...
February 12, 2026 at 16:17
Chess has rules and society has laws that are consciously made by humans They say that we are living in a rule-governed universe that operates accordi...
February 12, 2026 at 15:32
In language there is the word “freedom”, and although it is commonly used, I agree that it has no publicly accepted meaning, concept or definition. As...
February 12, 2026 at 14:24
Not as a rule.
February 12, 2026 at 12:57
It seems to me that there are two aspects regarding concepts and rules. I agree that there are rules as to how a concept should be used in language (w...
February 12, 2026 at 11:53
I agree that ostension is one aspect of language. As I wrote: However I disagree that Augustinian ostension may be totally ignored by language, as inf...
February 12, 2026 at 11:35
I agree that it is sometimes possible to know the cause of a broken window, in that someone may have filmed it, but it is impossible to know the inner...
February 12, 2026 at 09:44
I agree that we have the concept of “freedom” and there are rules as to how the word “freedom” is correctly used in language (rules as to what the con...
February 12, 2026 at 09:25
It depends what rules you are referring to. I agree that we have the concept of “stone” and there are rules as to how the word “stone” is correctly us...
February 12, 2026 at 09:19