The Necessity of Private Language: A Conceptual Confusion Latent in Diverse Episodes of the History of Psychology

JOSÉ MARÍA ARISO

Abstract


The present paper aims to show how Wittgenstein’s so-called ‘private language argument’ (PLA) affects diverse psychological theories. To this end, it starts by describing the main lines of the PLA and explaining why the idea of a private language constitutes a logical impossibility. Then, it is shown that the psychological theories of Descartes, Locke, Husserl, James, Fodor and Chomsky presuppose the existence of a private language, so that these theories lack internal consistency. Lastly, it is clarified why PLA, far from turning Wittgenstein into a behaviourist, involves a critique of behaviourism.

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/sectio-2013-0007
Date of publication: 2015-05-23 21:00:40
Date of submission: 2015-05-13 11:34:47


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