Lauener Foundation for Analytical Philosophy
Symposium
Thursday 22 June - Friday 23 June 2006
Bern, Switzerland
2nd International Lauener Symposium on Analytical Philosophy
in honour of Professor Dagfinn Føllesdal
Dr. Øystein Linnebo
(University of Bristol)
Reference and Frege's Context Principle
Frege proposed that his Context Principle-which says that a word has meaning only in the context of a proposition-can be used to explain reference, both in general and to mathematical objects in particular. I develop a version of this proposal and outline answers to some important challenges to the resulting account of reference. I also relate my account of reference to Dagfinn Føllesdal's work on this issue and point out some features of my account that should be attractive to Føllesdal.