Frege A Critical Introduction

by Noonan, Harold W.

• ISBN13: 9780745616735
• ISBN10: 0745616739
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-02-08
• Publisher: Polity

Summary

This new book offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to Frege's remarkable philosophical work, examining the main areas of his writings and demonstrating the connections between them. Frege's main contribution to philosophy spans philosophical logic, the theory of meaning, mathematical logic and the philosophy of mathematics. The book clearly explains and assesses Frege's work in these areas, systematically examining his major concepts, and revealing the links between them. The emphasis is on Frege's highly influential work in philosophical logic and the theory of meaning, including the features of his logic, his conceptions of object, concept and function, and his seminal distinction between sense and reference. Frege will be invaluable for students of the philosophy of language, philosophical logic, and analytic philosophy.

Author Biography

Harold Noonan is a well-known philosopher who has published numerous books and articles. His previous books include Objects and Identity and Personal Identity.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgements	x
Introduction: Frege's Life and Work	1	(35)
Biography	1	(11)
The Origin and Development of Frege's Philosophy	12	(13)
Frege's Contributions to Philosophy	25	(11)
Logic	36	(44)
The Purpose of Conceptual Notation	36	(3)
Logic before Frege	39	(4)
Fregean Logic	43	(37)
Number	80	(53)
Aims of The Foundations of Arithmetic	80	(5)
Rebuttal of Earlier Attempts	85	(19)
The Development of Frege's Own Position	104	(29)
Philosophical Logic	133	(35)
`Function and Concept'	133	(26)
`On Concept and Object'	159	(9)
Theory of Meaning	168	(63)
The Distinction between Sense and Reference	168	(17)
Indirect Reference	185	(7)
The Objectivity of Sense	192	(10)
Challenges to Sense	202	(29)
Appendix	231	(2)
Bibliography	233	(5)
Index	238