more from Gottlob Frege

Single Idea 18773

[catalogued under 5. Theory of Logic / F. Referring in Logic / 1. Naming / b. Names as descriptive]

Full Idea

In the case of an actual proper name such as 'Aristotle' opinions as to the sense may differ. It might, for instance, be taken to be the following: the pupil of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.

Gist of Idea

People may have different senses for 'Aristotle', like 'pupil of Plato' or 'teacher of Alexander'

Source

Gottlob Frege (On Sense and Reference [1892], note), quoted by Bernard Linsky - Quantification and Descriptions 1

Book Reference

'Bloomsbury Companion to Philosophical Logic', ed/tr. Horsten,L/Pettigrew,R [Bloomsbury 2014], p.79


A Reaction

This note is 'notorious', and was a central target for Kripke's critique. Frege says people's senses may vary on this, and thinks the sense of 'Aristotle' can be accurately expressed.

Related Idea

Idea 18774 Definite descriptions, unlike proper names, have a logical structure [Linsky,B]