In this paper, I will be focusing on Frenge’s importance of symbols, representations, and proper names. First, when it is stated that a valuable extension of knowledge of a and b contain valuable extensions it means that the intersecting point of a and b is the same point as the intersection point of b and c. A and b are merely symbols. Finally, it is much the same way that parents select the name for their child. The chosen name is usually not random, but rather a symbolic gesture, it has a story behind it.
A and b are points of intersection. They are both connected to a sign, a point of reference. They can both be considered to be referring to a particular sign. Furthermore, Frege goes on to discuss how a and b are both merely representations for words. A and b are just arbitrary symbols. It is language that gives the importance associated to the symbols that these signs reflect.
In the same manner, Frege determine that these letters are symbols for proper names. He continues by contrasting these proper names as being statements of originality. When one hears a proper name, one thinks of a particular person. It is a unique individual that comes to mind. Even if two people have the same name, two different people come to mind when the name is brought to memory. When the name is mentioned to two different people who know two different people with the same name, the memories are again different.
There are valuable and varying extensions of our knowledge based on recognizing proper names. They bring a sense of reference that is a word, sign or even expression. Using a proper name might help emphasize its importance in a sentence. If we associate a proper noun, the thought takes on an entirely new meaning. A thought is not enough for our minds because we want to understand greater meaning. This greater meaning is what having the identification of a proper name does in classification purposes for us. Using a proper noun helps us to put an object into a better classification in our mind. Our mind then has us categorize thoughts. Some of the classifications include subordinate sentences or clauses and more intricate parts of speech including the use of symbolic language and classifications of time and place. These are valuable extensions of our knowledge as they are the more sophisticated ways in which we communicate with each other.
Throughout the rest of his writing, Frege continues through the use and descriptions of further details of various parts of speech and delineates some details about each, but he never delves far from his initial thought. A and b are representations of proper names, nouns, thoughts, proper nouns, particular people, that conjure up specific thoughts in our minds. This is his main point, and he keeps returning to that focus throughout the remainder of his piece.
Work Cited
Frege, Gottlob. “Sense and Reference.” The Philosophical Review. Cornell University, 8 Mar.
2004. Web. 24 Oct. 2012.
