LP-1998-14: Words in Contexts: Fregean Elucidations

LP-1998-14: Rott, Hans (1998) Words in Contexts: Fregean Elucidations. [Report]

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Abstract

The paper addresses the question: How do we come to understand word-words
occurring in sentences, texts and utterances? Various writings of Frege are
consulted in an attempt to give an answer to this question. I first suggest
a way of conceiving how the Fregean principles of compositionality and
context can be reconciled and in fact seen as working together in the
enterprise of interpretation. Secondly, I try to show that another Fregean
theme, that of elucidation-the elucidation of primitive, undefinable terms
of logic, mathematics and metamathe-matics-secures a place for the context
principle in the writings of the late Frege in which no explicit reference
to this principle can be found. Elucidations provide a particular striking
and important case for the thesis that small linguistic units get a meaning
only through the interpretation of larger chunks of linguistic products.
Thirdly, we see that when thinking about the way elucidations work, Frege
is compelled to acknowledge a principle of charitable interpretation. I
argue that there is an intimate connection between these three points, and
that not only the first and the second, but also the third one is indeed a
Fregean theme.

Item Type:	Report
Report Nr:	LP-1998-14
Series Name:	Logic, Philosophy and Linguistics (LP)
Year:	1998
Date Deposited:	12 Oct 2016 14:40
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2016 14:40
URI:	https://eprints.illc.uva.nl/id/eprint/1274

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