Full Idea
For Frege, the distinction between what we count and what we do not count is drawn by our concepts. ...We can describe the very same external phenomena either as the leaves of a tree or its foliage.
Gist of Idea
Our concepts decide what is countable, as in seeing the leaves of the tree, or the foliage
Source
report of Gottlob Frege (Grundlagen der Arithmetik (Foundations) [1884]) by Kathrin Koslicki - Isolation and Non-arbitrary Division 3
Book Reference
-: 'Synthese' [-], p.424
A Reaction
Hm. We can't obey 'count the foliage', but we all know that foliage is countable stuff, where water isn't. Nature has a say here - it isn't just a matter of our concepts.
Related Idea
Idea 17439 There is no deep reason why we count carrots but not asparagus [Koslicki]