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Study of Aphorism #43
from
Ludwig
Wittgenstein's
Philosophical
Investigations:
Commentary by Lois
Shawver
Aphorism #43 is a critical aphorism, especially the last section of
this aphorism. If you become comfortable with #43, if you can talk
about meaning in these terms, then you will have understood
something quite central for all of Wittgenstein's philosophy.
Here is #43:
| 43. For a large class of cases--though not for
all--in which we employ the word meaning it can be
defined thus: the meaning of a word is its use in the language
game.
And the "meaning" of a name is sometimes
explained by pointing to its
bearer. | Go back to language
game#2. Here we knew that the supervisor was using
the call "block" to get the worker to fetch a block (that
was the use of this call "block!" in language game #2). In
another language game we might imagine that the call "block" was meant to
get the worker to put the block behind the fence. But in
language game #2 it meant "fetch me a block."
Now, imagine some confusion of the worker: The worker doesn't
know what to do when the supervisor calls out "block." What is the
source of this confusion? Is it because the worker doesn't know what
a block is? Maybe. Or is it that the worker knows exactly what
a block is, but he sometimes plays the language game of putting them
behind the fence and now the worker doesn't know what to do to comply with
the supervisor's call. In first case, the supervisor might explain
his meaning by walking over (Augustine style) and pointing to the pile of
blocks. (This is the case that LW mentions at the end of aphorism
#43.) In the second case, however, which is the more more common
kind of confusion, the worker doesn't know what to do with the
block. He knows what a block is, but he doesn't know to fetch
it. (This is the case LW mentions in the first part of aphorism
#43.) If the confusion is about what to do with the block, the
supervisor will need to show the worker what the use of this term is in
the language game. The supervisor will need to show the worker how
to fetch -- because that is the use of the term "block" in language game
#2. That is how the term is being used. Or in other words, in
language game #2, the call "block" means the worker should fetch a
block.
This analysis has relevance for our lives. In many situations in
life, we know what people are referring to, but we do not know the
language game they are playing -- we do not know the use (or meaning) of
the terms in the language game. Someone says, "Nice tie," and what
is the use of this statement in the language game? Is it meant to
butter you up? Is it meant to get you to give them your
tie? Most of the time when you wonder what people "mean" you are
wondering how they are using terms. Someone says, "yes," after
everything they say. What do they mean by that? Do they mean they
agree with you? Do they mean they understand you? In these
examples you will need to know the use of the word "yes" in the language
game being played.
Now, suppose you are in a store in a foreign country shopping for small
objects. You speak the foreign language in a very clumsy way and
often have to have meanings explained to you. You go up to the
shopkeeper with a small statue of a bird and you say the foreign language
equivalent of, "How much is this?" The shopkeeper gives you a one
term reply that is the price. You know that you have been given the
price, but you don't know exactly what that means in this context.
In some contexts, you know, a priceis not a non-negotiable. But in
others it is simply a bargaining ploy. Your question here about
meaning has to do with the use of the "price" in the language game.
If you want to know what he means by the price, then you need to know if
this is a final amount or if he is negotiating -- for these are two
different language games. The Augustinian approach to explaining
meaning would have you pointing at the paper and coined money on the
counter and saying "ten dollars." Sometimes that is what we need,
but not usually. Usually we want to know how the term is being used
in the language game. And it is this dimension of meaning that
Wittgenstein is calling attention to in
#43. |