3.1 Frege's distinction between sense and reference
3 min read•july 19, 2024
Frege's distinction between and is a foundational concept in semantics. It explains how expressions can have different meanings yet refer to the same thing, shedding light on the complexities of language and thought.
This distinction helps resolve puzzles about identity statements and explains why some truths are necessary while others are contingent. It's crucial for understanding how language connects to both our thoughts and the world around us.
Frege's Distinction Between Sense and Reference
Frege's sense vs reference
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- Sense (Sinn) represents the cognitive content or mode of presentation of an expression conveys how the referent is presented or described (e.g., "")
- Determines the thought or proposition expressed by a sentence captures the informative content
- Reference (Bedeutung) denotes the actual object, entity, or value that an expression refers to in the world (e.g., the planet Venus)
- Can be an individual, object, or truth value depending on the type of expression
- Sense and reference are distinct but related aspects of meaning
- Sense determines reference by specifying the conditions for identifying the referent
- Multiple senses can pick out the same referent (e.g., "the morning star" and "")
- Reference does not uniquely determine sense different descriptions can refer to the same object
Examples of sense-reference distinction
- "The author of Waverley" and "Sir Walter Scott" have different senses but refer to the same individual
- "The author of Waverley" presents the referent as the writer of a specific novel
- "Sir Walter Scott" presents the referent using his proper name
- "2 + 2" and "4" have different senses but denote the same number
- "2 + 2" presents the referent as the sum of two and two
- "4" presents the referent directly as the number four
- "The largest planet in the solar system" and "Jupiter" have different senses but refer to the same planet
- "The largest planet in the solar system" presents the referent by its relative size and location
- "Jupiter" presents the referent using its proper name
Impact on expression meaning
- Substitution of co-referential terms preserves truth value in transparent contexts (extensional)
- "The morning star is visible in the sky" remains true when "the morning star" is replaced with "the evening star"
- Substitution may not preserve truth value in opaque contexts (intensional) like belief reports
- "John believes the morning star is visible in the sky" can be true while "John believes the evening star is visible in the sky" is false
- The sense of a complex expression (e.g., a sentence) depends on the senses of its parts and their combination
- The sense of "The morning star is bright" is determined by the senses of "the morning star," "is," and "bright"
- The reference of a complex expression depends on the references of its parts and their combination
- The reference of "The morning star is bright" (its truth value) depends on the reference of "the morning star" (Venus) and the property denoted by "is bright"
Philosophical implications of distinction
- Resolves puzzles about the cognitive significance of identity statements
- "Hesperus is Hesperus" and "Hesperus is Phosphorus" differ in informative value due to different senses, despite co-reference
- Explains the informativeness of true identity statements
- "Hesperus is Phosphorus" is informative because it connects two different senses that refer to the same object
- Distinguishes necessary truths (true by virtue of sense) and contingent truths (true by virtue of reference)
- "2 + 2 = 4" is necessarily true due to the senses of the expressions
- "Aristotle taught Alexander the Great" is contingently true based on the references and the actual state of the world
- Provides a foundation for a theory of meaning that accounts for both cognitive significance and reference
- The sense of an expression captures its cognitive content and role in reasoning
- The reference of an expression determines its truth-conditional contribution and relation to the world
Key Terms to Review (15)
Ambiguity: Ambiguity refers to the presence of multiple meanings or interpretations within a word, phrase, or sentence, which can lead to confusion or uncertainty in understanding. This concept highlights the complexity of language, where context plays a crucial role in determining meaning. Ambiguity can exist at different levels, including words that have more than one meaning, sentences that can be interpreted in various ways, and even larger discourse structures that can shift meanings depending on the surrounding context.
Contextualism: Contextualism is a philosophical approach in semantics and pragmatics that emphasizes the role of context in understanding meaning. It suggests that the meaning of expressions can vary based on the circumstances surrounding their use, such as speaker intentions, cultural background, and the specific situation. This perspective is essential for interpreting polysemy, reference, propositional attitudes, and the nuanced implications of conversation.
Deixis: Deixis refers to words and phrases that cannot be fully understood without additional contextual information, particularly regarding the speaker, listener, and the situation of utterance. This concept is central in understanding how language functions in communication, highlighting the interplay between semantics and pragmatics, as well as how meaning shifts based on context and reference.
Extension: In semantics, extension refers to the actual objects or entities that a term or expression denotes in the real world. It connects words and phrases to their real-world referents, which helps us understand how language relates to the things it represents. This concept is vital for grasping various theories of reference, distinguishing between meanings and actual objects, and analyzing different contexts where identity statements may shift in meaning.
Frege's Puzzle: Frege's Puzzle refers to the philosophical problem concerning how two expressions can refer to the same object yet differ in meaning or cognitive value. This puzzle arises from the distinction between sense (the way in which a reference is presented) and reference (the actual object being referred to). It highlights the complexity of understanding meaning in language, emphasizing that knowing a reference is not the same as understanding its sense.
Gottlob Frege: Gottlob Frege was a German philosopher, logician, and mathematician, considered one of the founders of modern logic and analytic philosophy. His work laid the groundwork for many important concepts in semantics and pragmatics, particularly his distinction between sense and reference, which has implications for how we understand identity statements and the behavior of terms in propositional and predicate logic.
Intension: Intension refers to the inherent meaning or concept associated with a term or expression, as opposed to its reference, which is the actual object or entity it denotes. Understanding intension is crucial for grasping how language conveys meaning beyond mere reference, influencing various aspects of semantics and logic, such as how different expressions can refer to the same entity while carrying different meanings or implications.
Ludwig Wittgenstein: Ludwig Wittgenstein was an influential 20th-century philosopher, known for his work in logic, the philosophy of language, and the nature of meaning. He introduced ideas that challenged traditional notions of how language relates to reality, significantly impacting discussions on semantics and pragmatics, particularly through his views on the use of language in context.
Polysemy: Polysemy refers to a single word that has multiple meanings or senses, which are related by extension. This phenomenon is common in language and plays a crucial role in how we understand and categorize concepts, as it allows words to convey different ideas depending on their context. Polysemy interacts with related concepts such as homonymy, prototype theory, and Frege's distinction between sense and reference, shaping how meaning is constructed and understood in communication.
Reference: Reference is the relationship between language and the world, specifically how words and phrases relate to the entities they denote. It connects directly to the way we understand meaning at different levels, including how words point to objects, how sentences express propositions about those objects, and how discourse involves larger constructs of meaning. Reference is crucial for understanding context, as it helps clarify what specific entities are being talked about in various communicative situations.
Sense: Sense refers to the inherent meaning or conceptual content associated with a word or expression, distinguishing it from its reference, which is the actual object or entity it points to. Understanding sense involves analyzing how meaning is constructed at different levels: within individual words, sentences, and larger discourses. It plays a crucial role in semantics by shaping our interpretation of language and its use in communication.
The evening star: The evening star is a common name for the planet Venus when it appears in the western sky after sunset. This term reflects how Venus can be one of the brightest objects visible at twilight, often leading to its frequent association with concepts of beauty and love.
The Morning Star: The Morning Star refers to the planet Venus when it appears in the eastern sky just before sunrise. This term highlights the distinction between the way we understand a term's reference and its sense, particularly in how different contexts can lead to different meanings and implications.
The problem of identity: The problem of identity refers to the philosophical and semantic issues surrounding the conditions under which two expressions or names can be said to refer to the same object or individual. This concept is particularly significant in discussions of reference and meaning, as it raises questions about how different terms can designate the same entity while having different implications or senses associated with them.
Truth Conditions: Truth conditions refer to the specific circumstances or states of affairs that must hold true for a statement or proposition to be considered true. Understanding truth conditions helps in analyzing meaning, as it links language with the world by defining what makes a statement accurate or inaccurate, playing a crucial role in semantics and pragmatics.