Are you proud?

I did not say that looking something up in a dictionary was an end to all possible research into a term. However, for normal usage, it is a good place to start, and it can help one to know whether one is using a term properly or not.

But is pride a sensation, or is it just a term we use to describe a circumstance?

But is pride a sensation, or is it just a term we use to describe a circumstance?

Pride is a positive feeling regarding self worth. For a slightly fuller explanation, see:

Pride Definition | Definition of Pride at Dictionary.com

If it is a positive feeling, then we're back to the beetle problem kennethamy referenced. Right?

How can you be so sure that I am not feeling what you think I am not feeling?

But isn't that why Wittgenstein says that it would make no difference even if there were no beetle at all? It doesn't matter whether you are feeling what I am feeling according to Wittgenstein. (And I think W. would say the same thing about the inverted spectrum problem, too, which you were discussing a while ago).

If it is a positive feeling, then we're back to the beetle problem kennethamy referenced. Right?

How can you be so sure that I am not feeling what you think I am not feeling?

I am not sure of what you are feeling. But whatever you are feeling, if it has no reference to self worth, it is not pride. I know that from the definition of "pride". This is very much like me knowing that you do not live in a cube shaped house that has 50 sides. (If it has 50 sides, it is not a cube shape. Notice, none of this requires me to know anything about what kind of house you actually live in, or even if you live in a house at all.)

But if you don't mean what I think you mean, and I don't mean what you think I mean, isn't there a problem with communication? Or does the fact that we're exchanging meaning at all, what makes this not matter?

Just because neither of us can give an exacting, all-encompassing definition of the word "game", does not mean we don't know what we mean when we use the word in a sentence. We do know what eachother mean, and that's all that matters, right?

It is that feelings are supposed to be private entities. Wittgenstein's argument that there is no essence which all games have which makes them games is a different issue from the private/public language we are now discussing.

Yes, but I am wondering at a more basic level; why would someone be proud of things that are beyond one's control, and are not a part of oneself? To give a trivial sort of example, why should someone be proud of the local athletic team, if they are not themselves part of the team? The team's performance is not a reflection on the person, so why would the person be proud of this?

Why not? I'm a sports fan, it's fun. You have to take the lows with the highs of course. And technically the fans buy tickets and provide home field advantage. No fans = no team.

That it is fun may cause someone to take pride in the team. But the question is whether it justifies taking pride in the team.

In this case, fun is justification. Taking irrational pride in something can be rational on the whole.

Fun can't be justification if you can't take pride in something which you had nothing to do with; although it may cause you to take pride. Of course, seeking fun can cause you to do nearly anything. Like pulling off the wings of flies. But it would not justify you in pulling off the wings of flies, would it?

Does everything need justification? I don't think so. Some things, like playing video games, I just feel like doing, and I can't think of any justification for doing so. But I don't think I need to provide one. Why would I have to justify such an action?

But, to be clear, how exactly are you using justify here? Simply asking to provide a good reason?

No, I did not claim that everything needs justification. I was just pointing out the difference between justification and cause, and that what causes you to do something need not be what justified you in doing it. And, yes, to justify is to provide a reason, and, I would hope, a good one.

Do you think he needs a good reason to be a fan of a sports team?

Fun can't be justification if you can't take pride in something which you had nothing to do with; although it may cause you to take pride. Of course, seeking fun can cause you to do nearly anything. Like pulling off the wings of flies. But it would not justify you in pulling off the wings of flies, would it?

Well, I would, but he may not.