FREGE, G.

The Foundation of Arithmetic. A logico-mathematical enquiry into the concept of number. English Translation by J.L Austin. (Die Grundlagen der Arithmetik. Eine logisch mathematische Untersuchung über den Begriff der Zahl).

Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1950. 8vo. Orig. full green cloth w. gilt lettering to spine, orig. blue dust-jacket w. some soiling. Very minor nick to upper capital at back hinge, otherwise intact w. no loss and not price-clipped. Cloth-bdg. w. minor wear to capitals. Internally very nice and clean. Pp. xii + xiie, pp. XI + XIe, (2), 119 + 119e pp.

First U.K. edition, being the first English language, edition of this philosophical classic, Frege's later so influential first book, which is considered the best introduction to his thought. The work was originally published in German in 1894 (the text of which is also printed here), but the English translation has probably been more influential.

Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege (1848 - 1925) was a German mathematician, but his main contributions lie in his becoming a logician and a philosopher, who influenced the fields of logic and analytic philosophy immensely. Together with Wittgenstein, Russel and Moore, Frege is considered the founder of analytic philosophy, and a main founder of modern mathematical logic. In the preface of the "Principia Mathematica" Russell and Whitehead state that "In all questions of logical analysis our chief debt is to Frege" (p. VIII). His influence on 20th century philosophy has been deeply profound, especially in the English speaking countries from the middle of the 20th century and onwards; in this period most of his works were translated into English for the first time.
The philosophical papers of Frege were published in Germany in scholarly journals, which were barely read outside of German speaking countries. The first collections of his writings did not appear until after the Second World War, and Frege was little known as a philosopher during his lifetime. He greatly influenced the likes of Russel, wittgenstein and Carnap, though, and bears a great responsibility for the turn modern philosophical thought has taken. Due to his contributions to the philosophy of language, analytic philosophy could be founded as it were.
Instead of answering the question about meaning, Frege here sets out to explore the foundations of arithmetic, beginning with questions such as "What is a number?" In his solutions the answer to the question of meaning could also be found, though, and he permitted himself "the hope that even the philosophers, if they examine what I have written without prejudice, will find in it something of use to them." (p. XIi - Introduction).
The book has belonged to James K. Feibleman, the author of "A Myth is a Religion in which no one any longer believes" in "Understanding Philosophy", 1973, and bears a dedication from him "For Florence".
German-English parallel-text.

Order-nr.: 31403