Wittgenstein on Use, Meaning and the Experience of Meaning

Abstract

In this paper I discuss the relationship between the notion of ‘experience of meaning’, introduced by Wittgenstein in the Philosophical Investigations, and the idea of meaning as use, central to much of his thought. In particular, I ask whether the former is to be seen as a development, an integration and a specification of the latter, or whether its emergence in Wittgenstein’s work indicates a change in his attitude to meaning. My answer is that the notion of ‘experience of meaning’ does not bring back some form of psychologism, but rather it develops, integrates and specifies that of ‘use’.

Keywords

• Anti-psychologism. Experience of Meaning. Rules. Use. Wittgenstein