more from Gottlob Frege

Single Idea 6076

[catalogued under 5. Theory of Logic / E. Structures of Logic / 7. Predicates in Logic]

Full Idea

For Frege, a predicate does not refer to the objects of which it is true, but to the function that maps these objects onto the True and False; ..a predicate is a name for this function.

Gist of Idea

For Frege, predicates are names of functions that map objects onto the True and False

Source

report of Gottlob Frege (works [1890]) by Colin McGinn - Logical Properties Ch.3

Book Reference

McGinn,Colin: 'Logical Properties' [OUP 2003], p.67


A Reaction

McGinn says this is close to the intuitive sense of a property. Perhaps 'predicates are what make objects the things they are?'