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    Without a principled individuation condition for Sinn, th... — Carmelics
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    Supports→Frege's refined view raises unresolved questions

    Without a principled individuation condition for Sinn, the sense/reference distinction cannot do the explanatory work Frege assigns it in solving the informativeness puzzle of identity statements.

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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Identity statements like 'Hesperus is Phosphorus' are informative only if their components have distinct cognitive contents.
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    • 2.Without principled criteria for individuating Sinn, we cannot explain why 'a=a' and 'a=b' differ in cognitive significance.
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    • 3.Frege's explanatory project requires that Sinn determines reference; vague individuation undermines this determinacy requirement.
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    Reasons Against

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    • 1.The informativeness puzzle can be solved by appealing to mode of presentation differences without fully specifying individuation.
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    • 2.Demanding a complete principled individuation condition sets an unreasonably high standard; partial criteria suffice for explanation.
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    • 3.Frege's distinction works pragmatically regardless of precise individuation; we can use it without resolving metaphysical details.
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    Key Terms

    Frege(as a major historical figure in philosophy)
    Gottlob Frege (1848-1925) was a German logician and philosopher who founded modern logic and did groundbreaking work on how language relates to meaning and existence.
    Sense/reference distinction(as the philosophical distinction being invoked)
    Frege's famous theory that words have two separate aspects: their 'sense' (the concept or meaning in your head) and their 'reference' (the actual object in the world they point to).
    individuation condition(needed to make the sense/reference distinction work properly)
    A rule or principle that tells us how to count or identify when two things are the same or different—like how to tell when two meanings are actually the same meaning.
    informativeness puzzle of identity statements(the philosophical problem being solved)
    The puzzle of why saying 'The Morning Star is the Evening Star' seems informative (teaches us something new) even though both names refer to the same planet; Frege's theory tries to explain this.
    sinn(Fregean philosophy of language and propositional composition)
    Frege's German term, usually translated as 'sense'; refers to meanings or concepts that serve as the constituents of propositions on the Fregean view.

    Connections

    2 topics

    Philosophy of Language1 linkedSkepticism1 linked

    Related

    Demanding a complete principled individuation condition sets an unreasonably hig...Frege's distinction works pragmatically regardless of precise individuation; we ...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    Frege's explanatory project requires that Sinn determines reference; vague indiv...
    Frege's refined view raises unresolved questions
    +3 moreShow less
    Identity statements like 'Hesperus is Phosphorus' are informative only if their ...The informativeness puzzle can be solved by appealing to mode of presentation di...Without principled criteria for individuating Sinn, we cannot explain why 'a=a' ...