Overview

Gottlob Frege's Grundgesetze der Arithmetik, or Basic Laws of Arithmetic, was intended to be his magnum opus, the book in which he would finally establish his logicist philosophy of arithmetic. But because of the disaster of Russell's Paradox, which undermined Frege's proofs, the more mathematical parts of the book have rarely been read. Richard G. Heck, Jr., aims to change that, and establish it as a neglected masterpiece that must be placed at the center of Frege's philosophy.Part I of Reading Frege's Grundgesetze develops an interpretation of the philosophy of logic that informs Grundgesetze, paying especially close attention to the difficult sections of Frege's book in which he discusses his notorious 'Basic Law V' and attempts to secure its status as a law of logic. Part II examines the mathematical basis of Frege's logicism, explaining and exploring Frege's formal arguments. Heck argues that Frege himself knew that his proofs could be reconstructed so as to avoid Russell's Paradox, and presents Frege's arguments in a way that makes them available to a wide audience. He shows, by example, that careful attention to the structure of Frege's arguments, to what he proved, to how he proved it, and even to what he tried to prove but could not, has much to teach us about Frege's philosophy.

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Richard G. Heck's Reading Frege's Grundgesetze is a fantastic addition to the growing research that focuses primarily on Frege's Grundgesetze der Arithmetik. In fact, it is a must-read for any Frege scholar, or more broadly any philosopher interested in early analytic philosophy and logicians as well as mathematicians interested in the history of their field. Philosophia Mathematica a masterpiece. Its detailed analysis and precision should serve as a model for Frege scholarship (and indeed any scholarship). The insights Heck gains from his analyses are groundbreaking. His exegesis is profound and will fuel discussions for years to come. No Frege scholar, budding or established, and no philosopher of mathematics can afford to miss this book Marcus Rossberg, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Had it not already been clear to anyone following Richard Heck's work that he is one of the foremost Frege scholars of our time, it would have become hard to deny after the publication of his second book on Frege ... It investigates Frege's philosophy of logic and mathematics rigorously and meticulously ... [I] recommend Heck's book to anyone with interest in Frege's work, or indeed with an interest in the philosophy of mathematics Marcus Rossberg, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

a masterpiece. Its detailed analysis and precision should serve as a model for Frege scholarship (and indeed any scholarship). The insights Heck gains from his analyses are groundbreaking. His exegesis is profound and will fuel discussions for years to come. No Frege scholar, budding or established, and no philosopher of mathematics can afford to miss this book Marcus Rossberg, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Had it not already been clear to anyone following Richard Heck's work that he is one of the foremost Frege scholars of our time, it would have become hard to deny after the publication of his second book on Frege ... It investigates Frege's philosophy of logic and mathematics rigorously and meticulously ... [I] recommend Heck's book to anyone with interest in Frege's work, or indeed with an interest in the philosophy of mathematics Marcus Rossberg, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Had it not already been clear to anyone following Richard Heck's work that he is one of the foremost Frege scholars of our time, it would have become hard to deny after the publication of his second book on Frege ... It investigates Frege's philosophy of logic and mathematics rigorously and meticulously ... [I] recommend Heck's book to anyone with interest in Frege's work, or indeed with an interest in the philosophy of mathematics * Marcus Rossberg, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * a masterpiece. Its detailed analysis and precision should serve as a model for Frege scholarship (and indeed any scholarship). The insights Heck gains from his analyses are groundbreaking. His exegesis is profound and will fuel discussions for years to come. No Frege scholar, budding or established, and no philosopher of mathematics can afford to miss this book * Marcus Rossberg, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * Richard G. Heck's Reading Frege's Grundgesetze is a fantastic addition to the growing research that focuses primarily on Frege's Grundgesetze der Arithmetik. In fact, it is a must-read for any Frege scholar, or more broadly any philosopher interested in early analytic philosophy and logicians as well as mathematicians interested in the history of their field. * Philosophia Mathematica *

Author Information

Richard G. Heck, Jr., is Romeo Elton Professor of Natural Theology at Brown University, where he has taught since 2005. He taught at Harvard University from 1991 through 2005 and was educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he received his PhD in 1991; at New College, Oxford (BPhil, 1987), where he was a Marshall Scholar; and at Duke University (BS, 1985). Professor Heck has worked on the philosophies of language, logic, mathematics, and mind, and is is one of the world's foremost experts on the philosophy of Gottlob Frege. He lives in Canton, Massachusetts, with his wife, daughter, and five cats.

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