The Beetle in the Box

Famed philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein had this hypothetical in his Philosophical Investigations. One of my philosophy profs., Dr. Malone, was very intrigued by it. I never understood it. It involved people carrying bettles in boxes. It was, as near as i can tell, an attempt to demonstrate that the idea of private language (a language known only to you and spoken only to yourself) is nonsensical. I wrote a paper about the idea of private language once, arguing that private languages were possible.

Now, i'm starting to wonder if i have developed my own private language. I haven't developed my own words: i still use the words in English and Spanish. In fact, i even use the same gramatical rules as those languages. But, clearly, something is going on. I've always thought that i've been pretty effective in my use of language, but i'm not, apparently.

It doesn't matter how much i try to make myself understood. It doesn't matter how much i explain or rationalize. I think i'm doomed: no one has any idea what's going on in my head. I think this is demonstrated very clearly by the posts on this blog referring to inappropriate things i've said or to analogies i've made. I guess now i know how Van Gough and the Unabomber felt. I only hope that the worst thing i do is cut off my ear.