Lingua characterica and calculus ratiocinator: The Leibnizian background of the Frege-Schröder polemic

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985955%3A_____%2F21%3A00544080" target="_blank" >RIV/67985955:_____/21:00544080 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S175502031900025X" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1017/S175502031900025X</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S175502031900025X" target="_blank" >10.1017/S175502031900025X</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Lingua characterica and calculus ratiocinator: The Leibnizian background of the Frege-Schröder polemic

Original language description

After the publication of Begriffsschrift, a conflict erupted between Frege and Schröder regarding their respective logical systems which emerged around the Leibnizian notions of lingua characterica and calculus ratiocinator. Both of them claimed their own logic to be a better realisation of Leibniz’s ideal language and considered the rival system a mere calculus ratiocinator. Inspired by this polemic, van Heijenoort (1967b) distinguished two conceptions of logic-logic as language and logic as calculus-and presented them as opposing views, but did not explain Frege’s and Schröder’s conceptions of the fulfilment of Leibniz’s scientific ideal. In this paper I explain the reasons for Frege’s and Schröder’s mutual accusations of having created a mere calculus ratiocinator. On the one hand, Schröder’s construction of the algebra of relatives fits with a project for the reduction of any mathematical concept to the notion of relative. From this stance I argue that he deemed the formal system of Begriffsschrift incapable of such a reduction. On the other hand, first I argue that Frege took Boolean logic to be an abstract logical theory inadequate for the rendering of specific content, then I claim that the language of Begriffsschrift did not constitute a complete lingua characterica by itself, more being seen by Frege as a tool that could be applied to scientific disciplines. Accordingly, I argue that Frege’s project of constructing a lingua characterica was not tied to his later logicist programme.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

60301 - Philosophy, History and Philosophy of science and technology

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2021

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Review of Symbolic Logic

ISSN

1755-0203

e-ISSN

1755-0211

Volume of the periodical

14

Issue of the periodical within the volume

2

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

36

Pages from-to

411-446

UT code for WoS article

000673319400005

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85091819812