Wittgenstein's Private Language argument is one of the central parts of his philosophy of language and mind. It appears in his Philosophical Investigations (1952) as part of his famous 'later' philosophy of language. But what is the argument, and what does it tell us about the nature of language and meaning? In this video, we'll find out.

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00:00 - Intro
00:52 - What is a private language?
01:46 - Why care about private language?
02:12 - Who is the argument against?
02:44 - The Cartesian mind
03:33 - Empiricism
05:06 - William James’s Philosophy of Psychology
05:55 - The Private Language argument
08:07 - The diary example
09:59 - Rules and language games
12:06 - The beetle-in-a-box argument
13:55 - Understanding the analogy
15:38 - The purpose of the private language argument
16:55 - Ayer’s Interpretation
18:53 - The Standard Interpretation
19:57 - Marie McGinn’s Interpretation
21:38 - What sensation-words mean
24:10 - The problem of other minds
27:37 - Is Wittgenstein a behaviourist?
29:35 - The main take-away message

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