Begriffsschrift: Eine der arithmetischen nachgebildete Formelsprache des reinen Denkens

work by Frege

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June 22, 2026

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Gottlob Frege's Begriffsschrift (1879), meaning "Conceptual Notation," introduced a formal system for pure thought, distinct from arithmetic. This work is considered a foundational text in modern symbolic logic. Frege developed a rigorous first-order predicate logic, utilizing quantifiers and predicates, though his unique, two-dimensional notation limited its initial reception.12

Frege's system was inspired by Leibniz's goal of a "characteristic language" but focused on logical analysis rather than a calculus of reason. He argued that mathematics could be derived from logical laws, a concept known as logicism. Frege's work also introduced a groundbreaking theory of meaning, distinguishing between an expression's referent and its sense, and treating predicates as functions. His treatment of generality, using second-order functions, became a ubiquitous feature of modern logic.123

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history of logic
Gottlob Frege
…logic in the 19th century, Begriffsschrift (“Conceptual Notation”). The title was taken from Trendelenburg’s translation of Leibniz’ notion of a characteristic language. Frege’s small volume is a rigorous presentation of what would now be called the first-order predicate logic. It contains a careful use of quantifiers and predicates (although predicates…
Read More
…logic in the 19th century, Begriffsschrift (“Conceptual Notation”). The title was taken from Trendelenburg’s translation of Leibniz’ notion of a characteristic language. Frege’s small volume is a rigorous presentation of what would now be called the first-order predicate logic. It contains a careful use of quantifiers and predicates (although predicates…
Read More

Gottlob Frege
System of mathematical logic
In 1879 Frege published his Begriffsschrift (“Conceptscript”), in which, for the first time, a system of mathematical logic in the modern sense was presented. No one at the time, however—philosopher or mathematician—comprehended clearly what Frege had done, and when, some decades later, the subject began to get under way, his…
Read More
In 1879 Frege published his Begriffsschrift (“Conceptscript”), in which, for the first time, a system of mathematical logic in the modern sense was presented. No one at the time, however—philosopher or mathematician—comprehended clearly what Frege had done, and when, some decades later, the subject began to get under way, his…
Read More