What the Tortoise Told The Skeptic

Over forty years ago, Saul Kripke did the unthinkable — producing an exposition of Wittgenstein's Rule-Following Argument that was actually intelligible. More than that, it was interesting as well. In this talk, Drew Khlentzos will discuss Ludwig Wittgenstein's Skeptical Paradox about rule-following, or, more generally, meaning, as Saul Kripke presents it. 

Khlentzos will follow Saul Kripke in discussing the case of Addition. The Skeptic asks: How does one know that one means Addition by one’s term “plus”? Saul Kripke says the Skeptic’s challenge can be met only if one can provide an account of a fact that determines what one means by one’s words, here “plus,” and also shows how one is justified in giving the answer one gives to questions like “What is 68 + 57?” (here, “125”).

Treating the Skeptic’s question as a legitimate scientific problem, Khlentzos will propose a scientific response — one intended to meet the challenge head-on.

Drew Khlentzos is an Honorary Professor at Macquarie University, Department of Linguistics. He previously held a position at UNE, and he did his Ph.D at ANU. His research covers a wide array of areas, including Philosophy, Linguistics, and Cognitive Science.