Gottlob Frege: Sense and Reference Explained

👉 I have started a Patreon page (free and paid) with a philosophy community, exclusive videos, and special live events! I'd love to see you there:   / drnathanhawkins   One of Frege's greatest contributions to the philosophy of language is his distinction between sense and reference. His claim is that the meaning of words comes in two distinct layers, and that layers each have a specific role in our knowledge about the world. In this video I explain this distinction and its importance by first discussing Frege's older theory and why his dissatisfaction with it lead him to distinguish sense and reference. From this it becomes clearer why he drew the surprising consequences that he did regarding the nature of truth. This video is an introduction to a reasonably advanced, but highly interesting topic. It should be helpful for both those that find philosophy interesting and philosophy students alike. It will also help make sense of some of the debates in analytic philosophy, and provides a counterpoint to Russell's theory of descriptions which is covered in another video. Do you want regular philosophy lessons with me? I have limited spaces available to take on private students online. To find out more, email me on [email protected] and tell me what you are interested in. #Frege #Sense #Reference ---------Video Contents--------- 00:00 - Introduction 00:51 - A Theory of Content 02:46 - Problems with Content 04:56 - A Failed Solution 05:27 - Sense and Reference 12:14 - A Radical Consequence 13:23 - Ending ---------Channel Details--------- This channel features videos about big ideas in philosophy, explained as simply as I can. The focus is on late 19th and early 20th century thought, with a particular emphasis on the British Idealists (e.g. F. H. Bradley, J. M. E. McTaggart) and early analytic philosophers (Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Frank Ramsey). Welcome to the channel! ---------My Details--------- I am a PhD student and Gates Scholar at Cambridge near the end of a thesis on Frege's views on Truth. I have lectured at Cambridge on Frank Ramsey and Bertrand Russell, regularly taught undergraduate logic classes, and have also supervised students in metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophical logic, epistemology, and early analytic philosophy. But I have a keen interest in the British Idealists that I hope to pursue by making videos about what I'm reading, so much of the content of this channel will be an outlet for that interest. ---------References--------- Frege, G. (1972). Conceptual Notation and Related Articles. (T. W. Bynum, Ed. & Trans.). Oxford, UK: Oxford Clarendon Press. Frege, G. (1979). Posthumous Writings. (H. Hermes, F. Kambartel, & F. Kaulbach, Eds., P. Long & R. White, Trans.). Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell. Frege, G. (1984). Collected Papers on Mathematics, Logic, and Philosophy. (B. McGuinness, Ed., M. Black, V. H. Dudman, P. Geach, H. Kaal, E. H. W. Kluge, B. McGuinness, & R. H. Stoothoff, Trans.). Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.