Kono Game ni wa Goal ga nai (No Goals in this Game - Philosophy of Other Minds)

What is the mind? Why do we have a mind? Why do we need a mind? This book explores the essential characteristics of the human mind using skepticism as a guide, by tracing the arguments of Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the leading philosophers of our time, and Stanley Louis Cavell, an American philosopher who was deeply influenced by Wittgenstein.
 
The first chapter outlines the inner workings of skepticism as it relates to the minds of others and as it compares to the skepticism of the outer world. In this process, we confirm that skepticism about what others feel and think is the most real and serious type of skepticism, often interwoven with the concrete anxieties of daily life.
 
The second chapter traces Wittgenstein’s arguments against the salient points of skepticism and Cavell’s interpretation of those arguments, noting Wittgenstein’s surprising approach to skepticism. He does not refute skepticism with the argument that we can definitely know the minds of others. Rather, he criticizes the statement, “I know with certainty what is in my mind, but others can only guess at it,” as being confusing in and of itself. In this chapter we examine Cavell’s interpretation of the “criterion” and “grammar” that occur frequently in Wittgenstein’s discussions, and highlight the key points of their critique of skepticism.
 
Next, in the first half of the third chapter, we look at Cavell’s argument that the language of skepticism does not really amount to a firm conviction, and is unable to articulate its meaning. As we note in the second half of the chapter, however, Cavell nevertheless emphasizes, by applying Wittgenstein’s “rule-following paradox,” that there is a certain naturalness to skepticism, and goes on to point out one crucial factor that is overlooked when skepticism is dismissed as a mere figment of confused thinking. It is the primary objective of this chapter to elucidate exactly what this factor is.
 
Finally, in the fourth chapter, we explore what Wittgenstein himself discusses and implies about the minds of others and the human mind in general. In this process, we question whether there is even a need to overcome skepticism about the minds of others, and also, we explore what the characteristics of the human mind are, and why they are necessary.
 
This book approaches the human mind from a perspective that differs from that of both the natural and social sciences while at the same time seeking to verify the fundamental significance of how humans live through their interactions with each other.
 

(Written by FURUTA Tetsuya, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / 2023)