Not only can the influence of Gottlob Frege (1848-1925) be found in contemporary work in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, and the philosophy of language, but his projects―and the very terminology he employed in pursuing those projects―are still current in contemporary philosophy. This is undoubtedly why it seems so reasonable to assume that we can read Frege' s writings as if he were one of us, speaking to our philosophical concerns in our language. In Joan Weiner's view, however, Frege's words can be accurately interpreted only if we set that assumption aside. Weiner here offers a challenging new approach to the philosophy of this central figure in analytic philosophy. Weiner finds in Frege's corpus, from Begriffsschrift (1879) on, a unified project of remarkable ambition to which each of the writings in that corpus makes a distinct contribution―a project whose motivation she brings to life through a careful reading of his Foundations of Arithmetic. The Frege that Weiner brings into clear view is very different from the familiar figure. Far from having originated one of the standard positions on the nature of reference, Frege turns out not to have had positive doctrines on anything like what contemporary philosophers mean by "reference." Far from having served as a standard-bearer for those who take the realists' side of contemporary disputes with anti-realists, Frege turns out to have had no stake in either side of the controversy. Through Weiner's lens, Frege emerges as a thinker who has principled reasons for challenging the very assumptions and motivations that animate philosophers to dispute these doctrines. This lucidly written and accessible book will generate controversy among all readers with an interest in epistemology, philosophy of language, history of philosophy, and the philosophy of mathematics.
What is the number one? How do we know that 2+2=4? These apparently simple questions are in fact notoriously difficult to answer, and in one form or other have occupied philosophers from ancient times to the present. Gottlob Frege's conviction that the truths of arithmetic, and mathematics more generally, are derived from self-evident logical truths formed the basis of a systematic project which revolutionized logic, and founded modern analytic philosophy.
In this accessible and stimulating introduction, Joan Weiner traces the development of Frege's thought from his invention of a powerful new logical language in Begriffsschrift, through his explication of his project in the Foundations of Arithmetic and famous papers such as 'On Sense and Reference', to the brilliant, but ultimately doomed, presentation of the system in Basic Laws of Arithmetic. At each stage, she discusses Frege's motivations in a way which enables the modern reader to appreciate the originality, clarity, and profundity of his thought.
Past Masters is a series of concise, lucid, authoritative introducitons to the thought of leading intellectual figures of the past whose ideas still influence the way we think today.
"What is the number one? How do we know that 2 + 2 = 4? These apparently simple questions are in fact notoriously difficult to answer, and in one form or other have occupied philosophers from ancient times to the present. Gottlob Frege's conviction that the truths of arithmetic, and mathematics more generally, are derived from self-evident logical truths formed the basis of a systematic project which revolutionized logic, and founded modern analytic philosophy." "In this introduction, Joan Weiner traces the development of Frege's thought from his invention of a powerful new logical language in Begriffsschrift, through his explication of his project in the Foundations of Arithmetic and famous papers such as 'On Sense and Meaning', to the brilliant, but ultimately doomed, presentation of the system in Basic Laws of Arithmetic."--BOOK JACKET Cover Title Page Contents Preface to the Paperback Edition Acknowledgments A Note on Presuppositions, Conventions, and Translations Abbreviations Introduction Part I 1. “What Is the Number One?” 2. Laws of Thought 3. A Systematic Science Part II 4. Bedeutung and Objectivity 5. Platonism, Fregean and UnFregean Part III 6. Elucidations Appendix A: The True Appendix B: Absolute Simples Bibliography of Works Cited Index Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Note -- Abbreviations -- Part I : 1. What Is The Number One? -- 2. Laws Of Thought -- 3. A Systematic Science -- Part Ii : 4. Bedeutung And Objectivity -- 5. Platonism, Fregean And Unfregean -- Part Iii : 6. Elucidations -- Appendices -- Bibliography -- Index. Joan Weiner. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 299-302) And Index.
