The FOUNDATIONS of ARITHMETIC A logico-mathematical enquiry into the concept of number GOTTLOB FREGE Translated by J. L. Austin Second Revised Edition v HARPER TORCHBOOKS / The Science Library HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK‘THE FOUNDATIONS OF ARITHMETIC Printed in the United States of America ‘This volume was first published in 1950 by Basil Blackwell & Mott, Ltd. The revised edition of 1953 is here reprinted by arrangement. First HARPER ToRCHBOOK edition published 1960Translator’s Note Words and footnotes in square brackets are insertions by the translator. ‘The pagination of the German text is the same as in the original German edition, except that in the original the “Analysis of Contents” pages were not numbered. Some of Frege’s references and quotations, which are not slways accurate, have been corrected in the translated version, Translator’s Preface to the Second Edition ‘Though users of the first edition of this version will perhaps not be anywhere seriously misled in doctrine, a large number of passages in it have called, and some even howled, for improvements in fidelity ot lucidity. ‘The translator's thanks are due to several readers, and in particular to Mr. P. T. Geach, for their trouble in contributing emendations and suggestions: nothing could be more welcome than more of the same. ‘There is justice in the general criticism that the version is too long. Here and there it has been possible to do something to correct this, but it is too late and too difficult now to strike a fresh compromise throughout between the claims of brevity and those of naturalness and clarity, Frege is an unusually, even at times an unduly, succinct writer, and the German text must be allowed to remain the final testimony to his style. ‘The translations originally chosen for Frege’s principal terms remain un- changed, except that Begrifswort has now become “concept word” instead of “general term” and wirklich “actual” instead of “existent.” Critics of some others of these translations have perhaps not sufficiently realized that Frege’s inherited philosophical vocabulary (at least as he was using it at this period) is a dated one, It is that which was Englished by his contemporaries, the “British Idealists!"? and they certainly used, for example, “‘idea” for Vorstellg and “proposition” for Safz, though not unnaturally they attached to those words meanings different from (and doubtless less clear than) those fashionable half a century later, Frege’s thought cannot be reproduced accurately, nor can his terms be translated consistently, unless we are prepared to accept, even in him, something short of complete (or contemporary) sophistication. :