Full Idea
The problem facing a putative private language-user - namely, that he cannot tell whether he is, or only thinks he is, following a rule - also faces the community as a whole; how does the community tell whether it is following a rule?
Gist of Idea
If individuals can't tell if they are following a rule, how does a community do it?
Source
comment on Ludwig Wittgenstein (Philosophical Investigations [1952], §580) by A.C. Grayling - Wittgenstein Ch.3
Book Reference
Grayling,A.C.: 'Wittgenstein' [OUP 2001], p.125
A Reaction
Nice question. If you really get into the sceptical frame of mind that Wittgenstein reached about rules, almost everything seems impossible. How can I move? How can I speak? How can one instant follow another? How can I understand a word?