Easy-to-assemble Homes

Scott Adams's idea of homes built from blocks that poor people could put together under supervision perhaps is a very tiny part of home construction.

The opening of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations proposes a model of language

"Let us imagine a language for which the description given by Augustine is right. The language is meant to serve for communication between a builder A and an assistant B. A is building with building-stones; there are blocks, pillars, slabs and beams. B has to pass the stones, and that in the order in which A needs them. For this purpose they use a language consisting of the words ``block'', ``pillar'', ``slab'', ``beam''. A calls them out;--B brings the stone which he has learnt to bring at such-and-such a call.--Conceive this as a complete primitive language."

Wittgenstein returns to this for a hundred pages to show that it's a trivial part of language, a model for almost nothing that happens in language.  The point of showing it is that it's the philosopher's model of language.  Words are names of things.  It's no good, Wittgenstein wants to show.

A literal resemblance to the situation of Scott Adams's idea is striking.

Comments

  1. Clive NgwenyaMarch 31, 2020 at 6:24 AM

    Interesting thoughts

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yancey WardMay 10, 2021 at 5:26 PM

    rh,

    We have formed a Discord for Althouse Refugees. You can get an invite by e-mailing misplacedpants@protonmail.com

    ReplyDelete

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