But if you say: 'How am I to know what he means, when I see nothing but the signs he gives?' then I say: 'How is he to know what he means, when he has nothing but the signs either?' (504)
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Meaning is not fixed by signs alone; both speaker and listener rely on signs to interpret meaning.
- In plain terms
- Neither you nor the speaker knows meaning without signs.
- What can you take from it?
- Meaning depends on shared signs, not private intent.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you know what is meant?
- Do signs guarantee meaning?
Another view
Private mental states often guide interpretation.
More from Ludwig Wittgenstein
My aim is: to teach you to pass from a piece of disguised nonsense to something that is patent nonsense. (464)
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