Single Idea 9583

[catalogued under 19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 2. Meaning as Mental]

Full Idea

The psychological logicians are concerned with the sense of the words and with the presentations, which they do not distinguish from the sense; but the mathematicians are concerned with the matter itself, with the reference of the words.

Gist of Idea

Psychological logicians are concerned with sense of words, but mathematicians study the reference

Source

Gottlob Frege (Review of Husserl's 'Phil of Arithmetic' [1894], p.326)

Book Reference

-: 'Mind July 1972' [-], p.326


A Reaction

This is helpful for showing the point of his sense/reference distinction; it is part of his campaign against psychologism, by showing that there is a non-psychological component to language - the reference, where it meets the public world.