Abstract

This is a book with curious origins, one that Dummett says he wrote "without meaning to." It is the result of a failed attempt to supply an introduction for the second edition of his outstanding work, Frege: Philosophy of Language. In surveying the reaction to the first edition, Dummett was struck by the diversity of interpretations of Frege, and since that edition contained little by way of justification of his own reading, he felt that an introduction to the second edition was called for in which his positions were argued and defended. However the manuscript quickly grew into a much larger work and became the present volume. Consequently, says Dummett, there is little discussion of the truth of Frege's doctrines, the discussion instead focusing on why Frege should be read Dummett's way and containing a listing and explanation of the various textual changes he felt were required for the second edition. In fact, however, there is more space devoted to a defense of Frege's views than Dummett would have us believe in the preface, and this is all to the good since it allows the book to stand on its own to a greater degree than would otherwise have been the case. Even so, it is intended as a companion volume to FPL, and the reader will not obtain a full appreciation of it unless FPL is read first.