Questions on Frege, to test your understanding, and to think about.

(a) Briefly describe Frege’s ontology (objects, concepts, extensions).

 Frege defines numbers as extensions of concepts. 'The number of F's' is defined as the
extension of the concept G is a concept that is equinumerous to F. 

The concept in question leads to an equivalence class of all concepts that have the number
of F (including F). 

Frege defines 0 as the extension of the concept being non self-identical. So, the number of
this concept is the extension of the concept of all concepts that have no objects falling under
them. The number 1 is the extension of being identical with 0.

Ilias is 2 novels, 20 poems

this change of terminology corresponds to a change in the concept applied to that reality. 

(b) Why does Frege say that “the content of a statement of number is an assertion about a
concept”? (See Grundlagen/Foundations of Arithmetic Section 46).

Roughly speaking, Frege denies that when we use number-words in natural language
assertions we express a property of objects; i.e. when I say "my hands are white" I'm
asserting that each of my hands is white, while when I'm saying "I have two hands", I'm not
asserting that each of my hands "is two".

Thus, Frege's conclusion is that the "number-words" are like adjectives for concepts, i.e.
they express a property of a concept.

Example : there are two satellites of Mars : Phobos and Deimos. When we say "Mars has
two satellites", we express the fact that the concept "satellite of Mars" is instantiated by
two objects.

In modern expression, we have that :

This is also clear from the analysis of the number 00 :

"if I say "Venus has 00 moons", there simply does not exist any moon or agglomeration of
moons for anything to be asseted of; but what happens is that a property is assigned to
the concept "moon of Venus", namely that of including nothing under it."
 This point has fundamental consequences in Frege's view : numbers are akin to quantifiers.

In Frege's terminology, both number and quantifiers are second-level concepts, i.e. they
are concepts that express a property of first-level concepts (like the concept : "moon of
Venus", i.e. concepts "applying" to objects).

This fact can be highlighted by the "formal" analysis; we have that Phobos satisfy the
concept "Satellite of Mars", i.e. SatM(Phobos) holds.

In Frege's terminology, the object Phobos "falls under" the concept "Satellite of Mars".

The concept "Satellite of Mars" is instantiated, i.e. there are objects that "fall under" it.
Thus the second-level concept "existence" applies to the first-level concept "Satellite of
Mars", i.e. ∃xSatM(x) holds.

(c) Why does Frege think numbers are objects? What else might they be? Are Frege’s reasons
convincing?

Frege investigates the possibility that number is determined in external things. He demonstrates
how numbers function in natural language just as adjectives. "This desk has 5 drawers" is similar
in form to "This desk has green drawers". The drawers being green is an objective fact, grounded
in the external world. But this is not the case with 5.

(d) ①What is the role of “Hume’s principle”? ②Can this be used to define what a number is?
(Grundlagen sections 62-66).

Hume’s principle of identity equation; “when two numbers are so combined as that one has always a
unit answering to every unit of the other, we pronounce them equal.”

⇒he considers that all numerical equations must be defined by one to one correlation of a unit
belonging to the concept(e.g. F/G)

But Frege raised logical doubts/difficulties to this principle.　It is not among the numbers that the
identity can be found.

②Fix the concept of identity first ⇒and then define numbers by deducing
 Numbers belong to the concept of F/G

And there is the correlation between the elements of F and G

It cannot define what a number is, because it is more like a ----

So we need a extension?

(e) What, according to Frege’s account, is the number 2? (It’s a class: what are its members…?)

If e reduce it to logic,

It is a class containing the members of the class of 1 and 0 ⇒ 2 ＝{{1},{2}}