#Gottlob Frege

[philosophybits]

The work of science does not consist of creation but of the discovery of true thoughts.

Gottlob Frege, Logical Investigations

[noosphe-re]

One of the great philosophers of mathematics Gottlob Frege made quite an issue of the fact that mathematicians didn't know the meaning of One. What is One? Nobody could answer coherently. Of course Frege answered, but his answer was no better, or even worse, than the previous ones. And so it has continued to this very day, strange and incredible as it is. We know all about so much mathematics, but we don't know what it really is.

Reuben Hersh, What Kind of Thing Is a Number?, A Talk with Reuben Hersh [2.10.97], Edge

[tagitables]

30 October 2024,

I hope to read more about Frege before the year ends.

[geopolicraticus]

Friday 13 Sept. 2024

Grand Strategy Newsletter

The View from Oregon – 306  

Reflective Disequilibrium and Directionality

…in which I discuss consensus rationality, Galileo, Frege, the Asch conformity experiments, apology tours, equilibrium arbitrage, F. H. Bradley, disequilibrium, directional selection, and Fisherian runaways…

Substack: https://geopolicraticus.substack.com/p/reflective-disequilibrium-and-directionality

Medium: https://jnnielsen.medium.com/reflective-disequilibrium-and-directionality-80bc93960906

Reddit: https://new.reddit.com/r/The_View_from_Oregon/comments/1fhqfuj/reflective_disequilibrium_and_directionality/

[omegaphilosophia]

The Philosophy of Sense and Reference

The philosophy of sense and reference, primarily developed by the German philosopher Gottlob Frege in his 1892 paper "Über Sinn und Bedeutung" ("On Sense and Reference"), deals with the way language and meaning work in relation to objects and concepts in the world. Frege's distinction between sense (Sinn) and reference (Bedeutung) has become a foundational concept in the philosophy of language.

Key Concepts:

Sense (Sinn):

Meaning or Mode of Presentation: The sense of a term or expression refers to the way in which the reference (the object or concept the term refers to) is presented or understood. It is the meaning or the cognitive content associated with the term, which allows us to identify what the term refers to.

Distinct from Reference: Different expressions can have the same reference but different senses. For example, "the morning star" and "the evening star" both refer to the planet Venus, but they have different senses because they describe Venus in different ways.

Reference (Bedeutung):

The Object or Entity Referred To: The reference of a term is the actual object, entity, or concept in the world that the term refers to. It is what the term points to in reality.

Direct Relation to the World: Reference is concerned with the relationship between language and the world, specifically how terms relate to objects or entities that exist independently of our language and thought.

Frege’s Example:

"The Morning Star" vs. "The Evening Star": Frege used the example of "the morning star" and "the evening star" to illustrate his point. Both phrases refer to the same object (Venus), so they have the same reference. However, they convey different meanings or senses because "the morning star" refers to Venus as seen in the morning, while "the evening star" refers to Venus as seen in the evening.

Importance in Philosophy of Language:

Ambiguity and Meaning: The distinction between sense and reference is crucial for understanding how language can sometimes be ambiguous or misleading. For example, different terms might have the same reference but suggest different connotations or associations due to their differing senses.

Identity and Substitution: The distinction also helps explain issues related to identity and substitution in language. For instance, in the sentence "Clark Kent is Superman," the names "Clark Kent" and "Superman" have the same reference (the same person) but different senses (different ways of understanding who that person is).

Impact on Semantics:

Influence on Later Theories: Frege’s work on sense and reference has deeply influenced subsequent developments in semantics, the study of meaning in language. It laid the groundwork for various theories about how language relates to the world and how meaning is constructed.

Distinction from Descriptivism: The sense-reference distinction also contrasts with descriptivist theories of meaning, where the meaning of a name or term is seen as equivalent to a description associated with it.

Applications in Logic and Mathematics:

Formal Systems: Frege’s ideas are also relevant to logic and the philosophy of mathematics, where understanding how symbols and terms relate to objects and concepts is crucial for building formal systems and proving theorems.

Criticisms and Alternatives:

Direct Reference Theories: Some philosophers, like Saul Kripke and Hilary Putnam, have criticized the sense-reference distinction, arguing instead for theories of direct reference, where names and terms refer directly to objects without the mediation of a sense.

Debates in Philosophy of Language: The ongoing debate between Fregean theories and direct reference theories continues to shape discussions in the philosophy of language, especially regarding issues of meaning, reference, and identity.

The philosophy of sense and reference provides a critical framework for understanding how language functions to convey meaning and refer to objects or concepts in the world. By distinguishing between the sense (the mode of presentation) and reference (the actual object), Frege’s theory helps clarify complex issues in semantics, logic, and the philosophy of language, and it remains a foundational concept in these fields.

[h0neyfreak]

kind of insane that Gottlob Frege wanted to eliminate miscommunication with a perfect logical language back in the 1800s and we took his work and used it to build the most perfect miscommunication machine known to man (The Internet)

[perkwunos]

J. Alberto Coffa, The Semantic Tradition from Kant to Carnap

[existentialcomicsfeed]

Frege in the Public Square

[philosophybitmaps]

“One can hardly deny that mankind has a common store of thoughts which is transmitted from one generation to another.” – Gottlob Frege, On Sense and Reference

[famousdeaths]

Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege was a German philosopher, logician, and mathematician. He was a mathematics professor at the University of Jena, and is understoo...

Link: Gottlob Frege

[dreams-of-mutiny]

Arithmetic has began to totter.

— Gottlob Frege

[peglarpapers]

there comes a time in every university student’s life when they realise that their only hope for getting a relatively okay mark on an essay is to put a knock-knock joke in

[tananansad]

making my language philosophy class notes more digestable as a furry by drawing gottlob frege and bertrand russell as two furries kissing and having steaming hot gay sex

[tagitables]

Gottlob Frege, The Foundations of Arithmetic, A Logico-Mathematical Enquiry Into The Concept of Number

[poniadeaur]

Either the thesis that only what is my idea can be the object of my awareness is false, or all my knowledge and perception is limited to the range of my ideas, to the stage of my consciousness. In this case, I should have only an inner world and I should know nothing of other people -“The Thought: A Logical Inquiry” – Gottlob Frege,

[rhymingslangsblog]

Malbon anomalies

My demons thriving tonight

Tobacco and alcoholic stupor

Regrets in the am

I watch comets and scrawl

Watching the show solo

Red vino

Gottlob Frege turns in his grave

As I declare

I miss you still

xxx