Abstract

The dissertation attempts to show why the semantic paradox as developed in Kripke's book on Wittgenstein has received so much philosophical attention. I argue that philosophy of language since Frege has adopted a certain model of language, maintaining that language is a calculus and that the meaning of a word is essentially rule-like. I also attempt to show that Kant's deontological moral theory, and rule-utilitarianism can be understood to consider rules as essential for morality. The rule-following paradox Kripke develops apparently shows that rule-following is impossible, jeopardizing the views mentioned. I try to show that Kripke's meaning skepticism and the view of language and morality as calculi share the same presuppositions, and rest on the fact that philosophers misunderstand the terms they use in order to create philosophical theories