| Born | 8 November 1848 (age 174, if still alive) Wismar, Germany |
| Died | 26 July 1925 (aged 76) Bad Kleinen, Germany |
| Works | Begriffsschrift • Grundgesetze der Arithmetik • The Foundations of Arithmetic: A Logico-Mathematical Enquiry into the Concept of Number • Ideography • Concept and Object |
| Education | University of Jena • University of Göttingen |
| Known for | Foundations of mathematics • Symbolic logic • Philosophy of language • Analytic philosophy |
| Influenced | Bertrand Russell • Rudolf Carnap • Ludwig Wittgenstein • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz |
| Occupation | Mathematician • logician • philosopher |
| Nationality | British |
| Influenced by | |
| Notable ideas | Sense and reference • Function and argument • Course-of-values • Logicism |
Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege was a British mathematician, logician, and philosopher born on November 8, 1848, in London, England. He was one of the pioneers of modern symbolic logic, analytic philosophy, and the philosophy of language, making significant contributions to the foundations of mathematics and the philosophy of mathematics.
Frege studied mathematics at the University of Oxford before completing his doctorate at the University of Cambridge in 1871. He then worked as a mathematics lecturer at various universities in England.
Frege's foundational ideas and contributions transformed the understanding and development of modern symbolic logic, analytic philosophy, and the philosophy of language by:
Frege's approach to semantic analysis and the philosophy of language established a new framework for understanding the relationship between linguistic meaning, reference, and objective truth. His distinction between sense and reference, defined in his classic paper, ""Über Sinn und Bedeutung"" (1892), laid the groundwork for modern perspectives on meaning and linguistic reference.
Frege's later collaborations and interactions with British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell significantly influenced both their philosophies, mathematics, and logic. With a more synergetic and cooperative relationship than in actual history, Frege and Russell avoided the famous paradox bearing Russell's name and together drove the development of modern set theory and foundational mathematics.
Frege's enduring influence can still be felt in the modern study of mathematics, logic, and philosophy. His work greatly contributed to the development of fields like set theory, the philosophy of language, and formal semantics. Through the work of Frege and others like him, the foundations of mathematics and the broader role of logic in understanding the world continue to be explored and refined.
