We've Been Framed: How Language Shapes Politics
Jan 14, 2007Does the hijacking of words by political forces tell us something interesting about the nature of language and meaning?
Frege: The Invisible Anti-Semite
10 October 2017
Gottlob Frege is considered one of the founders of contemporary analytic philosophy. Revered by Russell and Wittgenstein, he laid substantial groundwork for predicate logic and the analysis of linguistic meaning. Yet, unlike Russell and Wittgenstein, Frege's personality and private life was little publicized and is little known. While his work was widely influential, he himself was not.
In the relative obscurity of his private life, it is a little known fact that the German philosopher was a hard-core right-wing, anti-democrat, anti-liberal, racist, nationalist anti-Semite. While he died before the rise of Hitler, one can only speculate how he would've responded.
This excellent article by Ray Monk in Prospect Magazine discusses Frege, his work, and his startling private life: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/philosophy/the-machine-in-the-ghost
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Related Shows
We've Been Framed: How Language Shapes Politics
Jan 14, 2007Does the hijacking of words by political forces tell us something interesting about the nature of language and meaning?
What are Words Worth?
Sep 27, 2009How do words shape our minds? Do the French suffer because they have no word for berry or cozy?
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Oct 22, 2006You might think our thoughts simply determine what we say. But maybe the language we speak is what really determines the thoughts we can have.
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Mar 04, 2007The Austrian/British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein exercised enormous influence over philosophy in the middle third of the last centu...
The Power of Thought
Dec 12, 2010Human thought is an amazing thing. It has given us not only science, literature, and morality, but also superstition, slavery, and war.
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May 17, 2015Humans have an amazing capacity to communicate. By uttering sounds we are able to convey meaning to those around us.
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