Wittgenstein and Understanding Others: Mind, Body and Language

Abstract

Wittgenstein rejects the idea that 'secure understanding is only possible if we first doubt everything that can be doubted, and then remove all these doubts'. This paper attempts to clarify what this rejection implies, especially in connection with the problem of mind-body dualism and to show what the 'understanding' of others means from the perspective of 'misunderstanding'. On the basis of Stanley Cavell's reinterpretation of Wittgenstein his view on 'an attitude towards a soul' is examined from the perspective of limitation in the understanding of others.