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Fregean

Fregean refers to the philosophy and logic associated with Gottlob Frege (1848–1925). In the philosophy of language, Fregean semantics emphasizes the distinction between sense (Sinn) and reference (Bedeutung). The sense of an expression is its mode of presentation, while the reference is the object or truth-conditional value it conveys. A sentence's sense fixes its truth conditions, and expressions with the same reference can differ in sense, as with "Hesperus" and "Phosphorus." For Frege, terms have a referential role tied to sense and content, and descriptive expressions contribute to the overall sense of a sentence via informational content.

Frege also developed a rigorous logic that underpins Fregean philosophy: the Begriffsschrift, the early predicate calculus,

In analytic philosophy, Fregean ideas underpin discussions on meaning, reference, and intentionality. The sense-reference distinction has

Overall, "Fregean" signals a family of positions and methods deriving from Frege's rigorous treatment of language,

and
the
idea
of
function-argument
structure,
with
truth-values
assigned
to
sentences.
His
work
on
function
application
underlies
modern
analytic
logic
and
the
study
of
logical
consequence.
influenced
debates
from
truth-conditional
semantics
to
issues
of
cognitive
significance
and
mathematical
language.
Critics,
notably
from
Russellian
and
Kripkean
traditions,
have
challenged
aspects
of
Fregean
theory—especially
the
role
of
sense
and
its
applicability
to
non-referring
terms.
logic,
and
mathematical
foundations,
and
remains
central
to
contemporary
philosophy
of
language
and
logic.