Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Names of the True

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Eva Picardi on Language, Analysis and History

Abstract

Frege’s claim that sentences are names of truth-values, I argue, was drawn to fit the formal project, but it respects our pre-theoretical intuitions and does not undermine the sentence’s central semantic role. I do a minimal work both on the expression and on its referent, connecting the sentence and the definite description, suggesting an intuitive referent for a true sentence, suggesting a motive for Frege’s choice of the truth-values as referents, and finally suggesting an understanding of the False as a referent.

I am grateful to Sergio Bernini, Wolfgang Carl, Pierdaniele Giaretta and Marco Santambrogio, and to the Padova seminar in analytic philosophy, for their careful reading and feedback.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Angelelli, I. 1978. Die Zweideutigkeit von Freges ‘Sinn’ und ‘Bedeutung’. Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Philosophie 3: 62–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Austin, J.L. 1950. Truth. In Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. Supp. Vol. 24, 111–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bach, E. 1968. Nouns and Noun Phrases. In Universals in Linguistic Theory, ed. E. Bach and R.T. Harms, 91–122. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, D. 1980. On the Translation of Frege’s Bedeutung. Analysis 40: 191–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernini, S. 2018. L’ottica fregeana degli enunciati come nomi. Rivista di filosofia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonino, G. 2008. The Arrow and the Point/Russell and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus. Frankfurt: Ontos Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burge, T. 1984. The Concept of Truth in Frege’s Program. Philosophia Naturalis 21: 507–512; repr. in Tyler Burge. 2005. Truth, Thought, Reason/Essays on Frege, 77–82. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burge, T. 1986. Frege on Truth. In Frege Synthesized, ed. Haaparanta & J. Hintikk, 97–154. Dordrecht: Reidel; repr. in Tyler Burge. 2005. Truth, Thought, Reason/Essays on Frege, 83–132. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burge, T. 2005. Postscript to Frege on Truth. In Truth, Thought, Reason/Essays on Frege, ed. Tyler Burge, 133–152. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheney, C., and C. Pigden. 2006. Negative Truths from Positive Facts. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 84: 249–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, D. 1967. The Logical Form of Action Sentences. In The Logic of Decision and Action, ed. N. Rescher, 81–95. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, D. 1969. True to the Facts. The Journal of Philosophy 66: 748–764.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demos, R. 1917. A Discussion of Certain Types of Negative Propositions. Mind 26: 188–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ducasse, C.J. 1940. Propositions, Opinions, Sentences and Facts. The Journal of Philosophy 37: 701–711.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dummett, M. 1973. Frege/Philosophy of Language. London: Duckworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frege, G. 1879. Begriffsschrift eine der arithmetischen nachgebildete Formelsprache der reinen Denkens. Halle: Louis Nebert; Eng. Tr. In Begriffsschrift, a Formula Language, Modeled Upon That of Arithmetic, for Pure Thought, in From Frege to Gōdel, ed. J. van Heijenoort, 1–82. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frege, G. 1884. Die Grundlagen der Arithmetik. Breslau: Koebner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frege, G. 1891. Function und Begriff. address given to the Jenaische Gesellschaft für Medicin und Naturwissenschaft, January 9, 1891; Eng. tr. Function and concept. In G. Frege Translations from the Philosophical Writings of Gottlob Frege, ed. P. Geach and M. Black, 21–41. Oxford: Blackwell, 1960.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frege, G. 1892. Über Sinn und Bedeutung. Zeitschrift für Philosophie und philosophische Kritik, 100: 25–50; Eng. tr. On Sense and Reference. In G. Frege Translations from the Philosophical Writings of Gottlob Frege, ed. P. Geach and M. Black, 56–78. Oxford: Blackwell, 1960.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frege, G. 1893. Grundgesetze der Arithmetik/Begriffsschrift abgeleitet. Band I, Jena: Pohle; Eng. Tr. of Introduction and $$ 1–52, Basic Laws of Arithmetic/Exposition of the System with an introduction by M. Furth, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1964.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frege, G. 1918. Der Gedanke/Eine logische Untersuchung. Beitrãge zur Philosophie des deutschen Idealismus 1: 58–77; Eng. tr. The Thought. Mind 65: 289–311, 1956.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gabriel, G. 1984. Fregean Connection: Bedeutung, Value and Truth-Value. Philosophical Quarterly 34: 372–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geach, P. 1962. Reference and Generality. Ithaca, NY and London: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heck, R.G., and R. May. 2018. Truth in Frege. In Oxford Handbook of Truth, ed. M. Glanzberg. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holenstein, E. 1983. The Meaning of ‘Bedeutung’ in Frege. A Philological Approach. In History of Semiotics, ed. A. Eschbach and J. Trabant, 311–321. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Jubien, M. 1991. Could This Be Magic? The Philosophical Review 100: 247–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korhonen, A. 2009. Russell’s Early Metaphysics of Propositions. Prolegomena 8: 159–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Künne, W. 2003. Conceptions of Truth. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Künne, W. 2008. Frege on Truths, Truth and the True. Studia Philosophica Estonica 1: 5–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lebens, S. 2017. Bertrand Russell and the Nature of Proposition. New York and London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lockwood, M. 1975. On Predicating Proper Names. The Philosophical Review 84: 471–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long, P., and R. White. 1980. On the Translation of Frege’s Bedeutung: A Reply to Dr. Bell. Analysis 40: 196–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moro, A. 2017. A Brief History of the Verb to Be. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Picardi, E. 1981. Assertibility and Truth/A Study of Fregean Themes. Bologna: CLUEB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Picardi, E. 1994. La chimica dei concetti/Linguaggio, logica, psicologia. Bologna: Il Mulino.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prior, A.N. 1971. Objects of Thought. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Quine, W.v.O. 1974. Methods of Logic, 4th ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricketts, T. 2003. Quantification, Sentences, and Truth-Values. Manuscrito 26: 389–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. 1918–1919. The Philosophy of Logical Atomism. The Monist 28: 495–527; 29: 32–63, 190–222, 345–380.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shramko, Y., and H. Wansing. 2005. Some Useful 16-Valued Logics: How a Computer Network Should Think. Journal of Philosophical Logic 34: 121–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Textor, M. 2011. Frege on Sense and Reference. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Textor, M. 2016. States of Affairs. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2016 Edition, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/states-of-affairs/.

  • Tugendhat, E. 1970. The Meaning of ‘Bedeutung’ in Frege. Analysis 30: 177–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wittgenstein, L. 1921. Logisch-Philosophische Abhandlung. Annalen der Naturphilosophie 14: 185–262; Engl. tr. C.G. Odgen Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. London: Kegan Paul, 1922.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Paolo Leonardi

Authors
  1. Paolo Leonardi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paolo Leonardi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

    Annalisa Coliva

  2. Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Paolo Leonardi

  3. Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Sebastiano Moruzzi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Leonardi, P. (2018). The Names of the True. In: Coliva, A., Leonardi, P., Moruzzi, S. (eds) Eva Picardi on Language, Analysis and History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95777-7_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation