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PHILOSOPHY PROFILE

Gottlob Frege

1892

START WITH THE PUZZLE

Does pointing to the same Venus make the meaning and information of the two expressions the same?

Evidence-backed moments
6
Timeline events
2
Verified places
1

This is a guided intellectual story assembled from verified claims, works, and events in which this thinker actually appears. It avoids filling gaps with a generic encyclopedia biography.

Why this thinker is worth following

Story 1How do words point to the world?

Frege — One object, different modes of presentation

The question that opens it

Does pointing to the same Venus make the meaning and information of the two expressions the same?

Follow the argument, not just the name
  1. 1

    “Ueber Sinn und Bedeutung” appeared in 1892 in volume 100 of Zeitschrift für Philosophie und philosophische Kritik, pages 25–50.

    Check the evidence

    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Ueber Sinn und Bedeutung

      Gottlob Frege · 1892 · Zeitschrift für Philosophie und philosophische Kritik 100, pages 25–50; Max Planck public record and PDF

      Locator: Article metadata, pages 25–50

      Open source
  2. 2

    Frege raises the puzzle that true statements of the forms a=a and a=b may concern the same identity while differing in cognitive significance.

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    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Ueber Sinn und Bedeutung

      Gottlob Frege · 1892 · Zeitschrift für Philosophie und philosophische Kritik 100, pages 25–50; Max Planck public record and PDF

      Locator: Pages 25–26

      Open source
    • Gottlob Frege

      Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

      Locator: Section 3.1.1

      Open source
  3. 3

    The Morning Star and the Evening Star refer to the same Venus but present it differently, so discovering their identity can be informative.

    Check the evidence

    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Ueber Sinn und Bedeutung

      Gottlob Frege · 1892 · Zeitschrift für Philosophie und philosophische Kritik 100, pages 25–50; Max Planck public record and PDF

      Locator: Pages 26–27

      Open source
    • Gottlob Frege

      Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

      Locator: Sections 3.1.1 and 3.2

      Open source
  4. 4

    Frege proposes that names and descriptions have sense as well as denotation, and that sense helps explain cognitive significance.

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    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Ueber Sinn und Bedeutung

      Gottlob Frege · 1892 · Zeitschrift für Philosophie und philosophische Kritik 100, pages 25–50; Max Planck public record and PDF

      Locator: Pages 27–31

      Open source
    • Gottlob Frege

      Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

      Locator: Section 3.2

      Open source
  5. 5

    On Frege’s distinction, an expression can have a sense while lacking an ordinary denotation.

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    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Ueber Sinn und Bedeutung

      Gottlob Frege · 1892 · Zeitschrift für Philosophie und philosophische Kritik 100, pages 25–50; Max Planck public record and PDF

      Locator: Pages 29–31

      Open source
    • Gottlob Frege

      Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

      Locator: Section 3.2

      Open source
  6. 6

    Frege worked at Jena during this period, but the current sources do not establish the exact place where he composed this essay.

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    This is an evidence-linked editorial account, not a direct quotation.

    • Gottlob Frege

      Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

      Locator: Life and academic career at Jena

      Open source
    • Geschichte des Instituts für Philosophie

      Friedrich Schiller University Jena · Institutional history of philosophy at Jena

      Locator: Institutional history: Frege’s work at Jena

      Open source
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Decisive moments in time

  1. 1892

    “Ueber Sinn und Bedeutung” appears in journal volume 100, pages 25–50.

  2. 1892

    Frege teaches and works at Jena; this marker does not identify the place where the article was written or published.

    Jena · Teaching and appointment

Open the places behind the story

Continue through questions and works