Rule-Following and Socialization: An Educational Reading of Wittgenstein

Document Type : علمی - پژوهشی

Author
kamal nosrati heshi
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran. Email: kamalnosrati1367@cfu.ac.ir
10.48308/kj.2026.244480.1435
Abstract
This paper offers an educational reading of Wittgenstein by drawing on key concepts of his later philosophy — such as 'training' versus 'explanation', 'language-games' as part of a 'form of life', 'rule-following' as a social phenomenon, the rejection of 'private language', and philosophy as 'therapy'. Its central argument is that socialization cannot be understood merely as a conscious, rule-based, and linguistically explicable process; rather, the internalization of norms and social skills occurs through 'training' and practical repetition within social actions and reactions, not through the theoretical transmission of rules. Accordingly, the implications for educational systems include: prioritizing 'training' over 'explanation'; aiming at 'initiation into a form of life' rather than merely teaching correct beliefs; grasping the indissoluble interconnection between 'agreement' and 'rule'; recognizing the pivotal role of 'shared examples' in shaping judgment; acknowledging the posteriority of 'doubt' to underlying beliefs; affirming the necessity of 'the other' in meaning-making and education; redefining moral virtues such as shame and confession as achievements of linguistic socialization; and finally, conceiving philosophy (and thereby educational thought) as 'therapy' and transformation in 'way of living'. — The educational upshot is a transition from abstract rule-teaching toward designing situations rich in collective practice, gradual initiation into a 'form of life', prioritizing practical certainties before doubt, and assessing understanding and rule-following through observing social interactions and the other's feedback.
Keywords
'Wittgenstein'
'rule-following'
'socialization'
'training'
'form of life'
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 22 May 2026
  • Revise Date 06 June 2026
  • Accept Date 24 June 2026