In general, Frege boils language down to “expressing a sense and designating a reference.” (Frege, 40, 1948), and although this is a very general claim, I agree that most things said can be accommodated by this distinction. The referent is the truth value of what is said, and people generally seek the truth, so it naturally follows that there will be a truth/falsity interest in most things said. I also agree that spoken words along with there inherent truth value, also have a general sense of what they’re taken to mean.
One thing that I can’t quite get on board with, is that the reference is always so cleanly objective. I mean to say that I agree ideas are subjective because no one can have the same perception of the same thing, but many reference points (I think) are initially founded on subjective ideas anyway.
My question has to do with something said on p38 by Frege (1948): “If words are used in the ordinary way, what one intends to speak of is their reference,” and I wonder what exactly this ‘ordinary’ way is. Is it perhaps related to the truth value of the referents?
I agree, it is hard to believe that the referent is objective. People's subjective ideas must serve as the bases for reference. And I think you have the right idea that this 'ordinary way' words are used. If the referent is the truth value of what is said, the ordinary way must be related to the truth values of the words.
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