Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein

Frege

Set texts:

• Conceptual Notation, ch.1
• The Foundations of Arithmetic
• Articles in Translations from the Philosophical Writings of Gottlob Frege, Geach and Black (eds): ‘Function and Concept’, ‘Sense and Reference’, ‘Concept and Object’, ‘Frege on Russell’s Paradox’

Further Reading:

• Michael Beaney, Frege: Making Sense
• Michael Dummett, Frege: Philosophy of Language, Frege: Philosophy of Mathematics
• Anthony Kenny, Frege
• Michael Potter and Thomas Ricketts (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Frege
• Michael Resnik, Frege and the Philosophy of  Mathematics
• Joan Weiner, Frege Explained

Russell

Set texts:

• Articles in Logic and Knowledge, Marsh (ed.): ‘On Denoting’, ‘Mathematical Logic Based on the Theory of Types’, ‘On the Nature of Acquaintance’
• Articles in Mysticism and Logic: ‘The Ultimate Constituents of Matter’, ‘The Relation of Sense-Data to Physics’,  ‘Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description’
• Our Knowledge of the External World, chs I-IV
• Either Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy: chs 1-3 and 12-18 or ‘The Philosophy of Logical Atomism’, in Logic and Knowledge, Marsh (ed.)

Further Reading:

• David Pears, Logical Atomism
• Mark Sainsbury, Russell
• Scott Soames, Philosophical Analysis in the 20th Century, vol. 1
• Peter Strawson, ‘On Referring’ in Logico-Linguistic Papers
• Keith Donnellan, ‘Reference and Definite Description’, Philosophical Review 75 (1966) pp.281-304

Wittgenstein

Set texts:

• Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

Further Reading:

• Elizabeth Anscombe, Introduction to Wittgenstein’s Tractatus
• Max Black, Companion to Wittgenstein’s Tractatus
• Anthony Kenny, Wittgenstein
• David Pears, The False Prison, Wittgenstein
• Scott Soames, Philosophical Analysis in the 20^th Century, vol. 1

Tutorial Topics:

1. Frege’s Logicism
2. Frege on Concept and Object
3. Frege on Sense and Reference
4. Russell on Descriptions
5. Russell’s Logicism
6. Logical Atomism
7. Wittgenstein’s Picture Theory
8. Wittgenstein on Logical Truth