Frege in Context
Bob Brandom–Fall 2025
Wednesdays at 1pm in 1008 B, Cathedral of Learning
Week 1. August 27, 2025: Introduction
Weekly Materials:
Handout for Week 1
Kite of Ampliativity
Some Quotations and References from Lecture
Video of Week 1
Audio of Week 1
Background Resources for Introduction:
Michael Beaney Frege Reader Introduction, pp. 1-14.
Background Resources for Context:
Alberto Coffa, The Semantic Tradition from Kant to Carnap: To the Vienna Station (1991)
Danielle Macbeth, Realizing Reason (2014)
Passages from Kant’s Logic
Bolzano’s Theory of Science
Week 2. September 3, 2025: Begriffsschrift (1879)
Read:
Begriffsschrift Intro, §§1-12
“Boole’s Logical Calculus and the Concept-Script” (in PW), esp pp. 9-21, 32-39, 46.
Weekly Materials:
Handout for Week 2
Passages from Begriffsschrift
Passages from “Boole’s Logical Calculus and the Concept-Script” [1880-81]
Supplementary:
Danielle Macbeth, Frege’s Logic (2005), Chs 1-3, pp. 1-109).
Background Reading:
P.T. Geach, ‘Ascriptivism’ (1960)
Brandom, “Semantic Inferentialism and Logical Expressivism” (Articulating Reasons, Chapter One)
September 10, 2025: NO CLASS!
Read:
Die Grundlagen der Arithmetik (1884)
Week 3. September 17, 2025: Grundlagen I (1884).
Concepts and Objects-as-Countables.
Singular terms, sortals, and recognition statements.
Read:
Grundlagen §1-75.
Weekly Materials:
Passages from the Grundlagen
Week 4. September 24, 2025: Grundlagen II (1884).
New Objects from Old Concepts: Abstraction
Read:
Grundlagen §76-109.
Weekly Materials:
Passages from the Grundlagen
Supplementary Reading:
Hale and Wright"The Metaontology of Abstraction" (2009)
Roy Cook “Hume’s Big Brother: Counting Concepts and the Bad Company Objection”
Brandom “Frege’s Technical Concepts” (2002)
Brandom “The Significance of Complex Numbers for Frege’s Philosophy of Mathematics”
Week 5. October 1, 2025: “Function and Concept” (1891), “Concept and Object” (1892), and “What is a Function?” (1904).
Read:
“Function and Concept,” pp. 21-41 and “Concept and Object,” pp. 42-56, and “What is a Function?” pp. 107-116, all in Geach and Black.
October 8, 2025: NO CLASS!
Read:
Danielle Macbeth “Diagrammatic Reasoning” (proof of BgS Theorem 133)
Danielle Macbeth Realizing Reason, selections.
Week 6. October 15, 2025: Sinn und Bedeutung
Read:
“On Sense and Reference” (1892), GB pp. 56-78
“Comments on Sinn und Bedeutung” (1892)
Week 7. October 22, 2025: Bernard Bolzano (1781-1848)
Read:
Bolzano, Theory of Science (Wissenschaftslehre) (1837), selections.
Weekly Materials:
Key Passages from Bolzano’s Wissenschaftslehre
Week 8. October 29, 2025: Varieties of Conceptual Novelty.
Read:
Week 9. November 5, 2025: Late Philosophy of Logic
Read:
“Logic” (PW 1-8),
“Logic” (Beaney 227-251),
“17 Key Sentences on Logic” (PW 185-196),
“Introduction to Logic” (Beaney 293-298), “A Brief Survey of My Logical Doctrines” (Beaney 299-300),
“What May I Regard as the Result of My Work?” (PW 184),
“My Basic Logical Insights” (Beaney 322-324), “Notes for Ludwig Darmstaedter” (Beaney 362-367).
Week 10. November 12, 2025: Late Essays
Read:
“Thought” (1918) (Beaney 325-345),“Negation” (1918) (Beaney 346-361).
“Logical Generality” (1923) (PW 258-262).
Week 11. November 19, 2025: Grundgesetze der Arithmetik (1893)
Read:
Selections from Grundgesetze
November 26, 2025: NO CLASS. Thanksgiving Holiday!
Read:
Danielle Macbeth, Realizing Reason, selections.
Week 12. December 3, 2025: Conclusion
