How Does Private Language Bear on the Cartesian Theory of Mind?

Summary

This article examines how Wittgenstein's private language argument challenges Cartesian dualism, the view that mind and body are separate. It argues that mind and body are not distinct and independent; rather, the mind should be understood as the root of the body.

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Abstract

The Cartesian meditations on first philosophy intended to demonstrate the existence of God. Wittgenstein’s private language argument is regarded as an attack on Cartesian dualism through the investigation of “private language” by a paradigm of sensation. This article explores how the “private language argument” bears on the Cartesian theory of mind. The mind and the body are not distinct and independent. Instead, the mind should be elucidated as the root of the body.

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