Single Idea 17439

[catalogued under 6. Mathematics / A. Nature of Mathematics / 4. Using Numbers / c. Counting procedure]

Full Idea

Why do speakers of English count carrots but not asparagus? There is no 'deep' reason.

Gist of Idea

There is no deep reason why we count carrots but not asparagus

Source

Kathrin Koslicki (Isolation and Non-arbitrary Division [1997])

Book Reference

-: 'Synthese' [-], p.424


A Reaction

Koslick is offering this to defend the Fregean conceptual view of counting, but what seems to matter is what is countable, and not whether we happen to count it. You don't need to know what carrots are to count them. Cooks count asparagus.

Related Idea

Idea 17438 Our concepts decide what is countable, as in seeing the leaves of the tree, or the foliage [Frege, by Koslicki]