Wittgenstein and the use of language as a calculus

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to examine the role of the calculus analogy in
Wittgenstein’s philosophy of language during his middle and late periods. This role
has changed because Wittgenstein has moved from a strict to a loose interpretation
of this analogy. The analogy becomes a loose one as soon as one admits that
language use and calculus can be compared in various ways and for many different
reasons. The common concern of the two interpretations is the eradication of a
mentalism mistaking thought and understanding for processes and states going on
in the speaker’s mind but Wittgenstein has progressively discovered that a strict
reading of the analogy suggest a false picture of the place of rules in language.