The private language challenge. Wittgenstein, the linguistic community and Kripke’s criticism

Abstract

In this short essay I am interested in analyzing the concept of private language developed by Ludwig Wittgenstein. The importance lies in the challenge posed by this notion when we start thinking about the real possibilities of a purely private language. In this sense, the argument of the Wittgensteinian approach holds that the meaning of words does not originate in individual subjective experiences, but in social interaction within a community of speakers. Thus, if each person had an exclusively private language, communication would be impossible. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to discuss whether language is indeed a collective phenomenon, rooted in shared practices and tacit agreements, or whether it may be a subjective personal construction. In short, to examine this question I will focus on the argument proposed by Kripke against private language, and from there, I will analyze Wittgenstein's skeptical paradox.