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Formality of logic and Frege’s Begriffsschrift

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2020

Daniele Mezzadri
Daniele Mezzadri*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE
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Abstract

This paper challenges a standard interpretation according to which Frege’s conception of logic (early and late) is at odds with the contemporary one, because on the latter’s view logic is formal, while on Frege’s view it is not, given that logic’s subject matter is reality’s most general features. I argue that Frege – in Begriffsschrift – retained the idea that logic is formal; Frege sees logic as providing the ‘logical cement’ that ties up together the contentful concepts of specific sciences, not the most general truths. Finally, I discuss how Frege conceives of the application of Begriffsschrift, and of its status as a ‘lingua characteristica’.

Keywords

FregeBegriffsschriftlogicformalityuniversalism

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Articles
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Canadian Journal of Philosophy , Volume 49 , Issue 2 , March 2019 , pp. 182 - 207
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Journal of Philosophy 2018

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