Frege and Russell: Does Science Talk Sense?
Over the course of the nineteenth century mathematicians became vividly aware that great advances in intuitive “understanding” could be obtained if novel definitions were devised for old notions such as “conic section”, for one thereby often gained a deeper appreciation for why old theorems in the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Rijeka. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
2007-01-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Analytic Philosophy |
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| Online Access: | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/137205 |
| _version_ | 1811322048908099584 |
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| author | Mark Wilson |
| author_facet | Mark Wilson |
| author_sort | Mark Wilson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Over the course of the nineteenth century mathematicians became vividly aware that great advances in intuitive “understanding” could be obtained
if novel definitions were devised for old notions such as “conic section”, for one thereby often gained a deeper appreciation for why old theorems in the subject had to be true (the new definitions were said to have proved “more fruitful” in these regards). From a naïve philosophical standpoint, such definitional alterations look as if they must properly displace the “propositional contents” of the very theorems they seek to illuminate. Haven’t our reformers merely “changed the subject”, rather than truly provided. The conceptual enlightenment they claim? Many practitioners of the time claimed that “Science” enjoys a special prerogative to ignore “surface content” in its search for truth, a sentiment with which Frege often concurs, at least in his early writings. Yet it is hard to render these opinions consistent with his official views on sense andreference, as this essay details. It also surveys Russell’s views on such topics, although he was generally less aware than Frege of the revolutionary mathematical work pursued within the “search for fruitful definitions” program. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:28:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8f21203e631a4cf59506306bee51d8b9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1845-8475 1849-0514 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T13:28:22Z |
| publishDate | 2007-01-01 |
| publisher | University of Rijeka. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Analytic Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj.art-8f21203e631a4cf59506306bee51d8b92022-12-22T02:45:03ZengUniversity of Rijeka. Faculty of Humanities and Social SciencesEuropean Journal of Analytic Philosophy1845-84751849-05142007-01-0132179190Frege and Russell: Does Science Talk Sense?Mark WilsonOver the course of the nineteenth century mathematicians became vividly aware that great advances in intuitive “understanding” could be obtained if novel definitions were devised for old notions such as “conic section”, for one thereby often gained a deeper appreciation for why old theorems in the subject had to be true (the new definitions were said to have proved “more fruitful” in these regards). From a naïve philosophical standpoint, such definitional alterations look as if they must properly displace the “propositional contents” of the very theorems they seek to illuminate. Haven’t our reformers merely “changed the subject”, rather than truly provided. The conceptual enlightenment they claim? Many practitioners of the time claimed that “Science” enjoys a special prerogative to ignore “surface content” in its search for truth, a sentiment with which Frege often concurs, at least in his early writings. Yet it is hard to render these opinions consistent with his official views on sense andreference, as this essay details. It also surveys Russell’s views on such topics, although he was generally less aware than Frege of the revolutionary mathematical work pursued within the “search for fruitful definitions” program.https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/137205Definition19th century definitional practiceobjective contentsensemeaning |
| spellingShingle | Mark Wilson Frege and Russell: Does Science Talk Sense? European Journal of Analytic Philosophy Definition 19th century definitional practice objective content sense meaning |
| title | Frege and Russell: Does Science Talk Sense? |
| title_full | Frege and Russell: Does Science Talk Sense? |
| title_fullStr | Frege and Russell: Does Science Talk Sense? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Frege and Russell: Does Science Talk Sense? |
| title_short | Frege and Russell: Does Science Talk Sense? |
| title_sort | frege and russell does science talk sense |
| topic | Definition 19th century definitional practice objective content sense meaning |
| url | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/137205 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT markwilson fregeandrusselldoessciencetalksense |