Senior Scholar at the Institute for Ethics in Public Life, Professor of Philosophy, State University of New York, College at Plattsburgh. Professor Emeritus, University of Alaska Anchorage.
In his early work, Peirce characterizes information in its ordinary sense as an increase in factu... more In his early work, Peirce characterizes information in its ordinary sense as an increase in factual knowledge, and is concerned to show how it can be expressed propositionally. However, beginning in 1893, and culminating in work done in 1906, Peirce conceives of information more abstractly as linked to the “form” in the object, and the sign more broadly as the communication of form. I argue that these more abstract and broader notions of sign and information have two advantages. First, they provide a basis and explanation for how meaning can emerge from non-meaningful processes. Second, they allow for a wider application of Peirce’s sign theory to all living organisms, as well as non-organic communication processes, such as message transmission and computer operation. By separating information from meaning, the details of Peirce’s semiotic theory can remove some of the mystery of how meaning emerges in the semiotic process.
Kai Nielsen provides a worthy challenge to the challenge of postmodernism, the direction of which... more Kai Nielsen provides a worthy challenge to the challenge of postmodernism, the direction of which I agree with in the main. I understand his position to be as follows: postmodernism has successfully undermined the notion of foundationalism essential to modernist thought; pragmatism, in the form of fellibilism, has also done so. However, the antifoundationalism of Peirce's pragmatism is to be preferred to the antifoundationalism of postmodernism because the former still allows the idea that a right method, when properly employed, promotes ...
Hegel wrote in the Philosophy of Right that "It is about a millennium and a half since the f... more Hegel wrote in the Philosophy of Right that "It is about a millennium and a half since the freedom of personality began through the spread of Christianity to blossom and gain recognition as a universal principle from a part, though only a small part of the human race."1 Cardinal Wojtyla reaffirms, in his major work, The Acting Person, this Christian philo sophical framework which upholds this cardinal principle of the Middle Ages. In a footnote to the opening pages of the book, he emphasizes the importance of the principle of the person in Church doctrine. In fact, as he remarks, while attending the Second Vatican Council, the results of the proceedings gave inspiration to his own philosophical work. The Council concluded that, "The role and competence of the Church being what it is, she must in no way be confused with the political community, nor bound to any political system. For she is at once a sign and a safeguard of the transcendence of the human person."2 One can find similar statements throughout the doctrines of the Church. For example, consider the state ment made by Pope Pius XII in 1942: "The origin and the primary scope of social life is the conservation, development and perfection of the human person, helping him to realize accurately the demands and values of religion and culture set by the creator for every man and for all mankind, both as a whole and in its natural ramifications."3 Or ? better ? perhaps a statement from the Encyclical Mystici Corporis might solidify this Christian doctrine of the person:
In" Questions Concerning Certain Classifications Claimed for Signs"(1977), David Savan ... more In" Questions Concerning Certain Classifications Claimed for Signs"(1977), David Savan argued that changes from Peirce's early, simple two-trichotomy sign classification of 1867 to the later ten-trichotomy one, articulated in the last decade of his life, was due to certain theoretical changes in Peirce's semiotic, rather than a simple and progressive elaboration of the original division. Also, in his monograph, An Introduction to CS Peirce's Full System of Semeiotic (1988), he attempted to give some body and characterization to this last, ten- ...
II ne serait pas exagere de dire qu'une grande partie de la philosophic du vingtieme siecle ... more II ne serait pas exagere de dire qu'une grande partie de la philosophic du vingtieme siecle consiste en la justification de son autonomie, et ainsi, par une'ruse de la raison'speculative, en la perpetuation de son independance institutionnelle a l'egard de ce qu'il est convenu d'appeler les savoirs positifs. L'originalite de La philosophic du langage (dorenavant PL) est d'envisager la speculation sur les langues essentiellement comme 1'elaboration d'outils intellectuels par les savoirs positifs, elaboration liee d'abord a la langue elle-meme et ä ...
Résumé/Abstract L'A. présente une anthologie de Peirce intitulée The rule of Reason: Philoso... more Résumé/Abstract L'A. présente une anthologie de Peirce intitulée The rule of Reason: Philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce éditée en 1997 par Brunning (J.) et Forster (P.). L'A. exprime sa satisfaction par rapport à cet ouvrage tant sur le choix des essais que sur leur organisation dans le recueil. Toutefois l'introduction se révèle plutôt décevante: elle comporte une présentation rapide et succincte du contenu. L'A. soumet l'idée d'un essai interprétatif qui aurait unifié l'ensemble des thèmes développés dans le recueil. Mais ...
In Charles Peirce on Ethics, Esthetics and the Normative Sciences (2021), I argue that Peirce had... more In Charles Peirce on Ethics, Esthetics and the Normative Sciences (2021), I argue that Peirce had two primary motivations for developing a normative science of ethics and esthetics. First, he was concerned about the use of science in the Gilded Age, where industry, business and laboratory now co-mingled to a degree not seen before. He worried this might corrupt the purpose of science as truth-seeking inquiry (
Argumenta-se aqui que a melhor interpretação da estética de Peirce é como uma ciência normativa d... more Argumenta-se aqui que a melhor interpretação da estética de Peirce é como uma ciência normativa de fins ideais. As influências de Peirce neste particular incluem a noção de kalos de Platão, A educação estética do homem de Friedrich Schiller, e a arquitetônica kantiana. Baseada principalmente nos rascunhos de Minute Logic em 1902 e as Palestras de Harvard em 1903, as características essenciais de uma ciência normativa são discutidas e a relação da estética às outras duas ciências normativas da lógica e da ética é analisada. O conceito de Peirce de bondade estética é desenvolvido, e os critérios para o que ele considera como um summum bonum são examinados. As próprias formulações de Peirce do summum bonum são examinados, inclusive sua noção de razoabilidade concreta, como também uma explicação interessante dos ideais fundamentais encontrada em um fragmento de manuscrito de 1903. O artigo conclui com uma discussão entre o que é chamado de estética positiva e negativa de Peirce, entendi...
In his early work, Peirce characterizes information in its ordinary sense as an increase in factu... more In his early work, Peirce characterizes information in its ordinary sense as an increase in factual knowledge, and is concerned to show how it can be expressed propositionally. However, beginning in 1893, and culminating in work done in 1906, Peirce conceives of information more abstractly as linked to the “form” in the object, and the sign more broadly as the communication of form. I argue that these more abstract and broader notions of sign and information have two advantages. First, they provide a basis and explanation for how meaning can emerge from non-meaningful processes. Second, they allow for a wider application of Peirce’s sign theory to all living organisms, as well as non-organic communication processes, such as message transmission and computer operation. By separating information from meaning, the details of Peirce’s semiotic theory can remove some of the mystery of how meaning emerges in the semiotic process.
Kai Nielsen provides a worthy challenge to the challenge of postmodernism, the direction of which... more Kai Nielsen provides a worthy challenge to the challenge of postmodernism, the direction of which I agree with in the main. I understand his position to be as follows: postmodernism has successfully undermined the notion of foundationalism essential to modernist thought; pragmatism, in the form of fellibilism, has also done so. However, the antifoundationalism of Peirce's pragmatism is to be preferred to the antifoundationalism of postmodernism because the former still allows the idea that a right method, when properly employed, promotes ...
Hegel wrote in the Philosophy of Right that "It is about a millennium and a half since the f... more Hegel wrote in the Philosophy of Right that "It is about a millennium and a half since the freedom of personality began through the spread of Christianity to blossom and gain recognition as a universal principle from a part, though only a small part of the human race."1 Cardinal Wojtyla reaffirms, in his major work, The Acting Person, this Christian philo sophical framework which upholds this cardinal principle of the Middle Ages. In a footnote to the opening pages of the book, he emphasizes the importance of the principle of the person in Church doctrine. In fact, as he remarks, while attending the Second Vatican Council, the results of the proceedings gave inspiration to his own philosophical work. The Council concluded that, "The role and competence of the Church being what it is, she must in no way be confused with the political community, nor bound to any political system. For she is at once a sign and a safeguard of the transcendence of the human person."2 One can find similar statements throughout the doctrines of the Church. For example, consider the state ment made by Pope Pius XII in 1942: "The origin and the primary scope of social life is the conservation, development and perfection of the human person, helping him to realize accurately the demands and values of religion and culture set by the creator for every man and for all mankind, both as a whole and in its natural ramifications."3 Or ? better ? perhaps a statement from the Encyclical Mystici Corporis might solidify this Christian doctrine of the person:
In" Questions Concerning Certain Classifications Claimed for Signs"(1977), David Savan ... more In" Questions Concerning Certain Classifications Claimed for Signs"(1977), David Savan argued that changes from Peirce's early, simple two-trichotomy sign classification of 1867 to the later ten-trichotomy one, articulated in the last decade of his life, was due to certain theoretical changes in Peirce's semiotic, rather than a simple and progressive elaboration of the original division. Also, in his monograph, An Introduction to CS Peirce's Full System of Semeiotic (1988), he attempted to give some body and characterization to this last, ten- ...
II ne serait pas exagere de dire qu'une grande partie de la philosophic du vingtieme siecle ... more II ne serait pas exagere de dire qu'une grande partie de la philosophic du vingtieme siecle consiste en la justification de son autonomie, et ainsi, par une'ruse de la raison'speculative, en la perpetuation de son independance institutionnelle a l'egard de ce qu'il est convenu d'appeler les savoirs positifs. L'originalite de La philosophic du langage (dorenavant PL) est d'envisager la speculation sur les langues essentiellement comme 1'elaboration d'outils intellectuels par les savoirs positifs, elaboration liee d'abord a la langue elle-meme et ä ...
Résumé/Abstract L'A. présente une anthologie de Peirce intitulée The rule of Reason: Philoso... more Résumé/Abstract L'A. présente une anthologie de Peirce intitulée The rule of Reason: Philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce éditée en 1997 par Brunning (J.) et Forster (P.). L'A. exprime sa satisfaction par rapport à cet ouvrage tant sur le choix des essais que sur leur organisation dans le recueil. Toutefois l'introduction se révèle plutôt décevante: elle comporte une présentation rapide et succincte du contenu. L'A. soumet l'idée d'un essai interprétatif qui aurait unifié l'ensemble des thèmes développés dans le recueil. Mais ...
In Charles Peirce on Ethics, Esthetics and the Normative Sciences (2021), I argue that Peirce had... more In Charles Peirce on Ethics, Esthetics and the Normative Sciences (2021), I argue that Peirce had two primary motivations for developing a normative science of ethics and esthetics. First, he was concerned about the use of science in the Gilded Age, where industry, business and laboratory now co-mingled to a degree not seen before. He worried this might corrupt the purpose of science as truth-seeking inquiry (
Argumenta-se aqui que a melhor interpretação da estética de Peirce é como uma ciência normativa d... more Argumenta-se aqui que a melhor interpretação da estética de Peirce é como uma ciência normativa de fins ideais. As influências de Peirce neste particular incluem a noção de kalos de Platão, A educação estética do homem de Friedrich Schiller, e a arquitetônica kantiana. Baseada principalmente nos rascunhos de Minute Logic em 1902 e as Palestras de Harvard em 1903, as características essenciais de uma ciência normativa são discutidas e a relação da estética às outras duas ciências normativas da lógica e da ética é analisada. O conceito de Peirce de bondade estética é desenvolvido, e os critérios para o que ele considera como um summum bonum são examinados. As próprias formulações de Peirce do summum bonum são examinados, inclusive sua noção de razoabilidade concreta, como também uma explicação interessante dos ideais fundamentais encontrada em um fragmento de manuscrito de 1903. O artigo conclui com uma discussão entre o que é chamado de estética positiva e negativa de Peirce, entendi...
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