Date: Friday, 02 August, 2024
Time: 5 p.m. onwards
Venue: HSS Department Conference Hall
YouTube Livestream: https://youtube.com/live/zlVoCJVjymo?feature=share
Title: Rule-Following: Is it Implicit or Explicit?
Abstract:
Wittgenstein's rule-following arguments delve into a fundamental question: how do our beliefs and expressions carry meaning that tells us when they're used correctly or incorrectly? This leads to a tricky problem. Can the rules we follow to use language be judged as right or wrong based on their content? Philosophers have different takes on this. Reductionists and non-reductionists try to solve the issue in their ways, but Wittgenstein points out that neither side fully captures the normativity of content, leaving the problem unresolved.
Robert Brandom offers a way out of this conundrum. He proposes a middle path that combines elements of both reductionist and non-reductionist views. Brandom believes that norms are fundamental to our practices. According to Brandom, as members of a rational, language-using community, our activities are governed by norms—a rational "ought" that guides our actions and understanding. Brandom explains that the norms within our linguistic practices are presented in a deontic form, meaning they are tied to social statuses established by the attitudes of those who attribute and recognize these statuses. This involves commitments where both speakers and listeners must not only express their attitudes but also acknowledge the content of what is being expressed.
For Brandom, following a rule in language means adhering to norms that define when an expression is used correctly. He seeks to resolve the dilemma of how these normative rules determine the correct application of expressions without falling into two extremes. The first extreme is the infinite regress of rules argument, which suggests that understanding an expression requires understanding a rule, which in turn requires another rule, and so on indefinitely. The second extreme is the idea that observing a speaker's behavior alone can reveal the rule being followed. Brandom counters this by arguing that no pattern of past behavior can definitively determine whether future behavior is correct or incorrect.
Brandom's approach aims to uncover and clarify the implicit norms in our language practices, bridging the gap between reductionist and non-reductionist views. By doing so, he addresses the normative aspect of content in rule-following, offering a more comprehensive understanding of how we use language.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Kevezai Tureng is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Fazl Ali College, Mokokchung, Nagaland. He completed his PhD from IIT Bombay where he worked on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s account of language and normativity. He has published on the topics of linguistic representation and rule following. Besides these, he is interested in Naga Philosophy and Tribal Philosophy. He also runs various initiatives to inculcate philosophical interest in students from Nagaland.
