Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Rare audio recording of a 1968 lecture by Norman Malcolm on Ludwig Wittgenstein's views about the nature of the mind. He explains why Wittgenstein rejected the notion of the mind as some mysterious inner thing which is private and hidden from view, and which somehow serves as the cause of outward behavior. On the other hand, he also explains why it cannot be identified with mere external behavior either. He goes on to discuss Wittgenstein’s view that there can be no explanation for why people go on in the same way and apply words in similar ways to new cases. For there can be no image, rule, or essence in the head which would be able to play that role and do the kind of work that one would need it to do.
#philosophy #wittgenstein #philosophyofmind #language #philosophyoflanguage #historyofphilosophy
Rare audio recording of a 1968 lecture by Norman Malcolm on Ludwig Wittgenstein's views about the nature of the mind. He explains why Wittgenstein rejected the notion of the mind as some mysterious inner thing which is private and hidden from view, and which somehow serves as the cause of outward behavior. On the other hand, he also explains why it cannot be identified with mere external behavior either. He goes on to discuss Wittgenstein’s view that there can be no explanation for why people go on in the same way and apply words in similar ways to new cases. For there can be no image, rule, or essence in the head which would be able to play that role and do the kind of work that one would need it to do.
#philosophy #wittgenstein #philosophyofmind #language #philosophyoflanguage #historyofphilosophy
