Single Idea 10606

[catalogued under 8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 1. Nature of Properties]

Full Idea

Frege urges us to regard properties as just a special kind of function, and in the case of numerical properties he comes close to identifying a property with its characteristic function.

Gist of Idea

Frege treats properties as a kind of function, and maybe a property is its characteristic function

Source

report of Gottlob Frege (Grundlagen der Arithmetik (Foundations) [1884]) by Peter Smith - Intro to Gödel's Theorems 11.3 n 5

Book Reference

Smith,Peter: 'An Introduction to Gödel's Theorems' [CUP 2007], p.87


A Reaction

Every now and then really interesting bits of metaphysics pop out of Frege, though it usually needs commentators to show the implications. Does the 'characteristic' imply a teleological view?