{"id":11183,"date":"2023-09-01T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/2023\/09\/01\/en-philo-tanzania-igf-2023-wittgenstein-language-game\/"},"modified":"2023-09-01T22:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T13:00:00","slug":"en-philo-tanzania-igf-2023-wittgenstein-language-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nkzw.jp\/igf\/2023\/09\/01\/en-philo-tanzania-igf-2023-wittgenstein-language-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Wittgensteinian Language Games on Tanzania IGF 2023 Dar es Salaam \u2014 Language games and forms of life"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This essay applies the conceptual framework of the Analytic Philosophy \/ Philosophy of Language<\/strong> \u2014 most prominently associated with Ludwig Wittgenstein<\/strong> \u2014 to re-read the Tanzania IGF 2023 Dar es Salaam conference. Target audience: researchers, doctoral students, policy analysts, and executives.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Introduction: The Problem<\/h2>\n

Late Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations on language games offers a key to understanding meaning's fluidity in venues like IGF. The Dar es Salaam conference is an assembly of language games where the forms of life of technologists, governments, civil society, and the private sector intersect.<\/p>\n

This essay argues that the multistakeholder process of Tanzania IGF becomes intelligible in its specificity only through the concept of Language games and forms of life<\/strong>, and that the concept itself undergoes transformation under the new material of digital space. Describing this mutual transformation is the task of this essay.<\/p>\n

\"Analytical<\/p>\n

The multistakeholder language game<\/h2>\n

Terms like "multistakeholder" and "free and open internet" carry distinct meanings and uses in each language game. The usages brought by Tanzania's participants can invert across contexts \u2014 yet this semantic slippage is itself a source of IGF's productivity.<\/p>\n

Each session's agenda-setting can be read as a contemporary restaging of the Ludwig Wittgenstein-type problematic.<\/p>\n

The national-level IGF (Tanzania IGF) is an attempt to redefine the modern category of the nation-state in the digital era.<\/p>\n

Intersecting forms of life<\/h2>\n

Ludwig Wittgenstein's concepts are not confined to abstract philosophical discussion; they apply to the concrete agenda items debated at the 2023 conference. We examine that application below.<\/p>\n

1. Application to "AI"<\/h3>\n

Discussion of "AI" can be positioned, from the perspective of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Language games and forms of life<\/strong>, as a central problematic. In Tanzania's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around AI are particularly at stake.<\/p>\n

2. Application to "\u63a5\u7d9a\u6027"<\/h3>\n

Discussion of "\u63a5\u7d9a\u6027" can be positioned, from the perspective of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Language games and forms of life<\/strong>, as a derivative problematic. In Tanzania's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around \u63a5\u7d9a\u6027 are particularly at stake.<\/p>\n

3. Application to "\u82e5\u8005"<\/h3>\n

Discussion of "\u82e5\u8005" can be positioned, from the perspective of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Language games and forms of life<\/strong>, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Tanzania's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around \u82e5\u8005 are particularly at stake.<\/p>\n

4. Application to "\u56fd\u5185\u6cd5\u6574\u5099"<\/h3>\n

Discussion of "\u56fd\u5185\u6cd5\u6574\u5099" can be positioned, from the perspective of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Language games and forms of life<\/strong>, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Tanzania's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around \u56fd\u5185\u6cd5\u6574\u5099 are particularly at stake.<\/p>\n

5. Application to "\u653f\u5e9c\uff0b\u6c11\u9593\u5354\u50cd"<\/h3>\n

Discussion of "\u653f\u5e9c\uff0b\u6c11\u9593\u5354\u50cd" can be positioned, from the perspective of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Language games and forms of life<\/strong>, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Tanzania's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around \u653f\u5e9c\uff0b\u6c11\u9593\u5354\u50cd are particularly at stake.<\/p>\n

\"Philosophical<\/p>\n

Implications for Executives and Practitioners<\/h2>\n

The philosophical reflection of this essay is not merely academic. The Ludwig Wittgenstein perspective carries three practical implications for executives operating in Tanzania.<\/p>\n

First, it raises the reflexive question of how the firm's business model connects to the logic of Language games and forms of life<\/strong>. Second, in dialogue with regulators and civil society, it suggests dimensions of consensus formation that purely technical arguments cannot reach. Third, it indicates that the long-term ground of business legitimacy lies not so much in technical advantage or market share as in participation in such philosophical-normative debates.<\/p>\n

Academic Positioning and Future Research<\/h2>\n

The argument of this essay attempts to graft a philosophical perspective onto the mainstream political-science and legal approaches to internet governance research. Three future research questions follow.<\/p>\n

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  1. Verification of the applicability of Ludwig Wittgenstein's framework to other IGF conferences<\/li>\n
  2. Comparative contrast between Analytic Philosophy \/ Philosophy of Language<\/strong> and other theoretical traditions<\/li>\n
  3. Exploration of dialogue possibilities with the indigenous intellectual traditions of Tanzania<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In particular, the third point has the potential to liberate IGF research from West-centric debate and open a more multi-layered discursive space.<\/p>\n

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    Primary Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n