Directival theory of meaning and the problem of intersubjectivity

Abstract

In the early thirties of the twentieth century Wittgenstein advanced his new conception of language based on the idea of rule following. It is less known that at the same time (and as far as I can tell, independently) Ajdukijewicz developed himself an idea of the language meaning related to the rule following activity, which he used in defence of radical conventionalism. Tadeusz Czarnecki analyses papers of two philosophers both published in 1934, and offers a critique of Ajdukijewicz?s theory of meaning. He claims that while Wittgenstein has in his philosophical arsenal the means to assure intersubjectivity of meaning, Ajdukijewicz fails in that respect. In this paper I want to show that this critique is ill- placed. I will claim that the interpretation of Ajukijewicz?s directival theory of meaning offered by Czarnecki is not accurate because it is neglecting some important aspects of Ajdukijewicz?s conventionalist position.