Evans on Frege

Evans makes two major claims--
(A) Frege's theory is Russellian;
(B) Frege is inconsistent in attributing senses to empty singular terms.

A.

1. Meaning, according to the later Frege, has two aspects: reference and sense.
   
2. The meaning of a complex expression is a function of the meaning of its parts.
   
3. The reference of a singular term is its referent; the reference of a
   sentence is its truth-value. So a truth value is a referent (and, for Frege, a sentence is a species of name).
   
4. The sense of a singular term is the mode of presentation; the sense
   of a sentence is the thought it expresses: a mode of presentation of a truth value.
   
5. A sentence expresses a thought only if the singular term it contains
   has a referent. (p.12) [Not sure who thinks this or why. Do you regard it as a consequence of (4) plus the general idea that there is no mode of presentation without an object presented? If so, the argument could proceed more swiftly.]
   
6. A sentence has a truth-value only if it expresses a thought. (p.12)
   
7. Hence, a sentence containing an empty singular term does not express
   a thought, and it has no truth-value either.
   
8. That is, a sentence containing an empty singular term has neither a
   sense nor a reference; it is meaningless.
   
9. 9. A theory of meaning is Russellian if it is a view that 'someone who
   uttered a sentence containing an empty singular term would fail to say
   anything, in the sense that he would fail to express a thought.' (p.12)
   
   
10. Hence, Frege's theory of meaning is Russellian. [from 8,9]
    
    B.
    
11. An empty singular term has a sense.
    
12. The sense of a sentence is the thought it expresses.
    
13. The sense of a sentence is a function from its parts.
    
14. Hence, a sentence containing an empty singular term has a
    sense. [from 11,12,13]
    
15. Hence, a sentence containing an empty singular term expresses a
    thought. [from 12, 14] [[15 contradicts 7]]
    
16. A determinate thought has a truth-value. (p.24?) [Not sure where this comes from. As Frege says that a sentence containing an empty name expresses a thought but has no truth value, this seems an easy way to make Frege out to be inconsistent!]
    
17. A sentence containing an empty singular term has a
    truth-value. [from 15, 16]
    
18. A sentence containing an empty singular term has no truth-value.
    [from 7]
    
    
19. Hence, Frege is inconsistent in attributing senses to empty
    singular terms. [[17 contradicts 18]]

Russellain: the view that someone who uttered a sentence containing an
empty singular term would fail to say anything, in the sense that he
would fail to express a thought. p.12

Russellain singular term: a singular term whose significance depends
upon its having a referent. p.12
Q:A singular term without a referent can still be significant-- it has
a sense.
A: An empty name with a sense is just inconsistent!