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2 ideas
| 8646 | Words in isolation seem to have ideas as meanings, but words have meaning in propositions [Frege] |
| Full Idea: We consider the meanings of words in isolation, which leads us to accept an idea as the meaning, and words with no mental picture appear to have no mental content. But only in a proposition have the words really a meaning. | |
| From: Gottlob Frege (Grundlagen der Arithmetik (Foundations) [1884], §60) | |
| A reaction: Frege (later) sees concepts as functions, which need input and output to be understood. It points to the idea that meaning is nothing more than usage. Something, though, is missing. As ever, WHY does something have a particular function? |
| 7732 | Never ask for the meaning of a word in isolation, but only in the context of a proposition [Frege] |
| Full Idea: Never ask for the meaning of a word in isolation, but only in the context of a proposition. | |
| From: Gottlob Frege (Grundlagen der Arithmetik (Foundations) [1884], p.x) | |
| A reaction: [Called the 'Contextual Principle']. But surely the word 'pig' has a known meaning, even if I don't give it a context? A word like 'the' seems to need a context, though. One might demand the context of the proposition as well. |