Single Idea 8622

[catalogued under 18. Thought / D. Concepts / 3. Ontology of Concepts / c. Fregean concepts]

Full Idea

Defining concepts psychologically, in terms of the nature of the human mind, makes everything subjective, and if we follow it through to the end, does away with truth.

Gist of Idea

Psychological accounts of concepts are subjective, and ultimately destroy truth

Source

Gottlob Frege (Grundlagen der Arithmetik (Foundations) [1884], Intro)

Book Reference

Frege,Gottlob: 'The Foundations of Arithmetic (Austin)', ed/tr. Austin,J.L. [Blackwell 1980], p.-5


A Reaction

This is the reason for Frege's passionate opposition to psychological approaches to thought. The problem, though, is to give an account in which the fixity of truth connects to the fluctuations of mental life. How does it do that??