Abstract

In the Philosophical Review of April, 1953 , Professor Ryle has drawn an interesting analogy between the use of words and the use of instruments or implements. He holds that this analogy helps us in two ways. Firstly, by asking ‘What is the use of that word?’ rather than ‘What is its meaning?’ we are not lead to suppose that for every word there is a correlate entity which is its meaning. Secondly, if we regard using words as exercising a technique, we admit that words can be misused as well as properly used; and part, at least, of a philosopher’'s task, on Ryle’s view, is to give an account of these proper uses