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Frege's Logic
For many philosophers, modern philosophy begins in 1879 with the publication of Gottlob Frege's Begriffsschrift , in which Frege presents the first truly modern logic in his symbolic language, Begriffsschrift , or concept-script. Danielle Macbeth's book, the first full-length study of this language, offers a highly original new reading of Frege's logic based directly on Frege's own two-dimensional notation and his various writings about logic.
Setting out to explain the nature of Frege's logical notation, Macbeth brings clarity not only to Frege's symbolism and its motivation, but also to many other topics central to his philosophy. She develops a uniquely compelling account of Frege's Sinn/Bedeutung distinction, a distinction central to an adequate logical language; and she articulates a novel understanding of concepts, both of what they are and of how their contents are expressed in properly logical language. In her reading, Frege's Begriffsschrift emerges as a powerful and deeply illuminating alternative to the quantificational logic it would later inspire.
The most enlightening examination to date of the developments of Frege's thinking about his logic, this book introduces a new kind of logical language, one that promises surprising insight into a range of issues in metaphysics and epistemology, as well as in the philosophy of logic.
Setting out to explain the nature of Frege's logical notation, Macbeth brings clarity not only to Frege's symbolism and its motivation, but also to many other topics central to his philosophy. She develops a uniquely compelling account of Frege's Sinn/Bedeutung distinction, a distinction central to an adequate logical language; and she articulates a novel understanding of concepts, both of what they are and of how their contents are expressed in properly logical language. In her reading, Frege's Begriffsschrift emerges as a powerful and deeply illuminating alternative to the quantificational logic it would later inspire.
The most enlightening examination to date of the developments of Frege's thinking about his logic, this book introduces a new kind of logical language, one that promises surprising insight into a range of issues in metaphysics and epistemology, as well as in the philosophy of logic.
- GenresPhilosophy
218 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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35 people want to read
About the author
Danielle Macbeth
2 books1 followerDanielle Macbeth is T. Wistar Brown Professor of Philosophy at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and the author of Frege's Logic (Harvard University Press, 2005). She has also published on a variety of issues in the history and philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, pragmatism, and other topics. She was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in 2002-3, and has been the recipient of both an ACLS Burkhardt Fellowship and a Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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July 27, 2022
Explains the strengths and weaknesses of Frege's logical notation. The bits on the concavity notation, on sinn/bedeutung and on Basic Law V are all fascinating.
***
Take two. What I care about in this book is the close reading of the diagrammatic notation that got formal logic started. The solution Frege came up with is rather brilliant: represent the consequences of propositions in a vertical stack. The technical term for this construction, in Frege's vocabulary, is an auxiliary language. Unlike NatLangs, which excel at navigating ambiguity, formal auxiliary language aren't obviously embedded in everyday life. No one expects or needs the begrifftschrift when they are in the middle of preparing a meal. Concept script is designed for a specific purpose: exhibiting the internal structure of an argument. Clearly, it accomplishes this task successfully. Macbeth's thesis turns out to be correct, I think. No diagrams, no concepts.
***
Take two. What I care about in this book is the close reading of the diagrammatic notation that got formal logic started. The solution Frege came up with is rather brilliant: represent the consequences of propositions in a vertical stack. The technical term for this construction, in Frege's vocabulary, is an auxiliary language. Unlike NatLangs, which excel at navigating ambiguity, formal auxiliary language aren't obviously embedded in everyday life. No one expects or needs the begrifftschrift when they are in the middle of preparing a meal. Concept script is designed for a specific purpose: exhibiting the internal structure of an argument. Clearly, it accomplishes this task successfully. Macbeth's thesis turns out to be correct, I think. No diagrams, no concepts.
Displaying 1 of 1 review