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Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) was an American philosopher, physicist, mathematician, and the founder of pragmatism. Despire his importance in the history of philosophy, a unified statment of his thought has been unavailable. With this publication, readers at long last are offered the philosopher's only known, complete, and coherent account of his own work. Originally delivered as the Cambridge Conferences Lectures of 1898, Reasoning and the Logic of Things is the most accessible and thorough introduction to Peirce's mature thought to be found within the compass of a single book.

Beginning with an explanation of the nature of philosophy, Peirce proceeds to illustrate his claim that mathematics provides the foundation of our logic and metaphysics. We find here the clearest formulation of an idea present in Peirce's thought since the 1860s, the distinction between three kinds of reasoning: induction, deduction, and retroduction. Then follows an introduction to Peirce's chief logical doctrines, as well as his attempts to provide a classification of the sciences, a theory of categories, and a theory of science. In conclusion, turning from "reasoning" to the "logic of things," Peirce called for an evolutionary cosmology to explain the reality of laws and described the kinds of reasoning he employed in developing this cosmology.

At the urging of his friend William James, Peirce made an uncharacteristic effort in these lectures to present his ideas in terms intelligible to a general audience--those without advanced training in logic and philosophy. The introductory materials by Ketner and Putman add to the volume's lucidity. Consequently, this book will be a valuable source for readers outside of the circle of Peirce specialists.

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Biographer Joseph Brent refines his interpretation of the thought and character of Charles Sanders Peirce based on new research. "An extraordinary, inspiring portrait of the largely forgotten Peirce, a progenitor of modern thought who devised a realist metaphysics and attempted to achieve direct knowledge of God by applying the logic of science".--PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. Includes new glossary and detailed chronology. 36 photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Terrific insight into the man behind the philosophy
This book contains a great deal of information on the life of a sadly-neglected philosopher; one of the most brilliant Americans of the 19th century.Dr. Brent has a wonderful, at times even poetic, writingstyle, and he has "lived" with Peirce so long that he hasexcellent insight into the man behind the philosophy. Struggling throughPeirce in a class?This book may not make his philosophy"easy"--but it will make him more human.

Excellent
This is a very good biography of an overlooked great American thinker.Mr. Brent does a good job of recounting the life of Peirce without getting bogged down in the details of Peirce's philosophy which is well documentedin several other books. The book also attempts to analyze Peirce'sbehavoir and why he failed as an academic, something that desperatelyneeded to be done.As Peirce's reputation inevitatably increases, thisbiography will become a classic reference to this very interestingAmerican. ... Read more

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Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) is rapidly becoming recognized as the greatest American philosopher.At the center of his philosophy was a revolutionary model of the way human beings think.Peirce, a logician, challenged traditional models by describing thoughts not as "ideas" but as "signs," external to the self and without meaning unless interpreted by a subsequent thought.His general theory of signs—or semiotic—is especially pertinent to methodologies currently being debated in many disciplines.

This anthology, the first one-volume work devoted to Peirce's writings on semiotic, provides a much-needed, basic introduction to a complex aspect of his work.James Hoopes has selected the most authoritative texts and supplemented them with informative headnotes.His introduction explains the place of Peirce's semiotic in the history of philosophy and compares Peirce's theory of signs totheories developed in literature and linguistics. ... Read more

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Signs on
Selection of writings by Peirce. Short, clear introductions with every 'article'. Good have been longer. ... Read more

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American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) is credited as the inventor of the philosophical school of pragmatism. Biographer Kenneth Ketner--Inspired by a friendship and correspondence with novelist Walker Percy, who was absorbed by the life and writings of Peirce--adopts a narrative strategy that lets Peirce tell his own early life story in this first of a planned three-volume project. 20 illustrations. ... Read more

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An American Philosopher in the Grand Manner
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839 -1914) was an eccentric American genius and the founder of the philosophy generally known as pragmatism.A difficult, erratic, and sometimes violent man, he was denied in his attempts to secure an academic position and spent the last several years of his life in near isolation at his home, called Arisbe, near Milford, Pennsylvania. Peirce may be America's most significant philosopher.Yet he never produced a book.His reputation, insofar as it is based on his written work, is based on essays he wrote throughout his life and on large manuscripts which his admirers saw through to publication beginning shortly after his death.

Professor Kenneth Ketner, the author of this "autobiography" of Peirce, is an acknoledged authority on Peirce's life and thought. He calls this book, "His Glassy Essence" an "autobiography" because it is based in large part upon a selection of Peirce's writings and letters arranged to tell the story of his life.As Professor Ketner states, however, the book is also in part fiction.It includes three fictitious characters, the narrator, Ike, a writer of mysteries, his wife Betsey, a nurse, and Roy, a Harvard PhD in philosophy who allegedly knew and studied with Peirce.The story line involves Ike taking an interest in Peirce based upon an old box of Peirce's papers that Betsey has inherited.Roy comes into the story to provide information about Peirce and, not accidentally, some excellent discussions on the nature of philosophy.

The mechanism creaks at times.The story line is artificial although Roy has many insightful things to say in commenting on Peirce.It is difficult to separate fact from fiction in the account of Peirce because many of his letters and essays seem to be melded together from sources written at different times and places.Ketner's protestations notwithstanding, it is difficult to be convinced of the accuracy of the account presented here as scholarly biography.Finally, this book covers essentially only the first 28 years of Peirce's life (with forwards to his death and to some of his subsequent writings.) There are two promised sequels which are to continue the story through the remainder of Peirce's life.

For all the difficulties, I came away from this book with a better understanding of Peirce and some inkling of the development of his thought.Peirce's own distinctive ideas beging to be developed only in the last third or so of this book.The earlier sections deal largely with Peirce's years in college when he was deeply under the influence of Kant.

The book makes a good case that Peirce's work is narrowed unduly when he is viewed simply as one of the first American pragmatists.He was in fact a philosopher in the large manner concerned about science, about logic and categories in an expansive sense of these terms, and about God. He was an empiricist in the broadest sense that William James developed with his term "radical empiricism".I also see strong parallels in the account of Peirce given in this book to Husserl's phenomenology.

Peirce tought the distinction between knowledge, or the accumulation of facts, and wisdom and meaning which cannot be learned from the books.He developed the philosophy of signs called semiotics and invented a personal and highly idiosyncratic philosophical vocabulary, including terms such as "Cenopythagoreanism" (see page 342) which stretch the casual reader' patience and may stretch the more serious reader's mind.

This book gives an excellent picture of the philosophic mind, in the person of Charles Peirce, and of the serious and consuming nature of philosophic inquiry.It is not a book to read for a full account either of Peirce's life or his thought.It does capture something of the spirit of the man and the thinker.

Readers who want a historically based account of Peirce and his times might enjoy "The Metaphysical Club" by Louis Menand. Ketner's book is cited in the references for Menand and it covers much of the same ground, Peirce's life, his relationship to his father, the mathematician Benjamin Peirce, the metaphysical club which met briefly at Harvard in the 1870s, the effect of the Civil War on American pragmatism, and much else.The distinctive value of Ketner's book, I think, is that for all its problems it will allow the reader to see Peirce from the inside out.

"Glassy Essence" is a valuable resource
For me the book, "His Glassy Essence," has been invaluable. Ketner has pulled together information about Peirce's early life that I could not possibly have gotten to on my own. Since I am not attached to anyinstitution, I do not have access to any unpublished documents. I am notsure I would have been able to find the information Ketner has laid out inthis book even if I had such access. He has pulled together a great deal ofinformation from diverse sources and put these scattered pieces together inchronological and contextual order.

This book has been immensely helpfulto me for coming to understand the provenance of Peirce's pragmatism. Now,it is obvious to me that there was no abrupt beginning to the developmentof Peirce's pragmatic theory. Now that I know of his early exposure toqualitative discernment and aesthetics, I can identify these as central tothe evolution of his theory of abduction-something I have suspected allalong, but had been unable to nail down because of the lack of achronological and contextual framework for Peirce's early life.

Theauthor did a fine job of referencing information, providing page by pagenotes at the end of the book. These references were noted in such a waythat they do not interfere with the reading of the text--which unfolds in astory-like way, enabling me to see how Peirce fit within his context. Thebiographical and temperamental information concerning Peirce's father, forexample, fleshed out the cultural and familial milieu in which he wasraised-seemingly as a crown prince of the intellectual world for which hisfather was a sort of king.

Although there are minor discrepancies (suchas a brother who seems to have been left out)and occasional confusions whenfollowing the story line, I think that this book is going to be very usefulfor anyone wanting to know about the early Peirce. I am finding "HisGlassy Essence" especially useful as a reference tool. I suspect thatother independent researchers, like myself, who are working with Peirce'sideas, but do not have access to unpublished materials by or about him willfind this book useful as well.

Experience the Transforming Power of this book for yourself
As a Peircean supporter of personal inquiry I can't in good conscience write a traditional "review" like the Kirkus one which dominates this page.I write to encourage everybody to disregard the Kirkus commentsand explore His Glassy Essence (and their own, in turn) for themselves.

Having read the correspondence between Ketner and Percy in Thief ofPeirce, I know that Percy commissioned Ketner to write this volume.Thatsaid, I believe that Charles S Peirce, Walker Percy, and Kenneth L. Ketnerare all speaking to any person whose interests run toward open-minded,evaluative, and exploratory inquiry into Life.What better way to discoveryour own Way than to see it in the life of another, namelyPeirce.

Personally, I have no doubt in my heart that Percy would bepleased with Ketner's first installment of the life of CS Peirce.But, byall means, don't take anyone's word for it --- be Percy's sovereignwayfarer, pick up a copy of HGE, and discover Peirce's transformative powerfor you own self! ... Read more

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The subject of this book is the thought of the American pragmatist and founder of semiotics, Charles Sanders Peirce. The book collects the papers presented to the International Conference Semiotics and Philosophy in C.S. Peirce (Milan, April 2005), together with some additional new contributions by well-known Peirce scholars, bearing witness to the vigour of Peircean scholarship in Italy and also hosting some of the most significant international voices on this topic. The book is introduced by the two editors and is divided into three sections, corresponding to the three main areas of the most interesting contemporary reflection on Peirce. Namely, Semiotics and the Logic of Inquiry (part I); Abduction and Philosophy of Mathematics (part II); Peirce and the Western Tradition. (part III). The analysis is carried out from a semiotic perspective, in which semiotics should not be understood as a specific doctrine but rather as the philosophical core of Peirceâs system. As we read in the introduction: âit is semiotics and philosophy or, rather, semiotics as philosophy and philosophy as semiotics, which emerge from a reading of these papersâ. ... Read more

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Charles Sanders Peirce (1839--1914) has often beenreferred to as one of the most important North American philosophers,but the real extent of his philosophical importance is only nowbeginning to emerge. Peirce's `pragmaticism' (his own term) mayprovide the key to an epistemological theory which avoids both theScylla of foundationalism and the Charybdis of relativism. Peirce's`Logic', linked to a conception of knowledge and of science, isincreasingly coming to be recognised as the only possible one.
InLiving Doubt, 26 papers are presented by some of the world'sleading philosophers, demonstrating the rich and cosmopolitan varietyof approach to Peirce's epistemology. The contributions are groupedunder three general headings: Knowledge, truth and the pragmaticprinciple; Peirce and the epistemological tradition; and Knowledge,language and semeiotic.
... Read more

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Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) is regarded by many as the greatest American philosopher there has been. Best known as the founder of pragmatism - the philosophy that assesses the meaning of what we say by its practical consequences - his writings cover an enormous range of subjects. A highly original thinker, Peirce's influence can be found in ethics, aesthetics, symbolic logic, religion, epistemology and metaphysics, as well as scientific topics.

The greater part of Peirce's papers were unpublished during his lifetime and upon his death several hundred manuscripts were left to Harvard University. The editors succeeded in creating an order out of what had seemed to all, including Peirce himself, to be a disarray of papers and fragments. When the Collected Papers were published, the philosophical world recognized for the first time the depth, variety and power of Peirce's philosophy. The 8-volume collection includes Peirce's writings on general philosophy, logic, pragmatism, metaphysics, experimental science, scientific method and philosophy of mind, as well as reviews and correspondence. Out of print for many years, this major work is once again available to libraries and scholars. ... Read more

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This volume represents an important contribution to Peirce's work in mathematics and formal logic. An internationally recognized group of scholars explores and extends understandings of Peirce's most advanced work. The stimulating depth and originality of Peirce's thought and the continuing relevance of his ideas are brought out by this major book.

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"This definitive text is the single best work on Peirce's semeiotic (as Peirce would have spelled it) allowing scholars to extrapolate beyond Peirce or to apply him to new areas..." -- Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy Newsletter

"... indispensable introduction to Peirce's semiotics." -- Teaching Philosophy

"Both for students new to Peirce and for the advanced student, this is an excellent and unique reference book. It should be available in libraries at all... colleges and universities." -- Choice

"The best and most balanced full account of Peirce's semiotic which contributes not only to semiotics but to philosophy. Liszka's book is the sourcebook for scholars in general." -- Nathan Houser

Although 19th-century philosopher and scientist Charles Sanders Peirce was a prolific writer, he never published his work on signs in any organized fashion, making it difficult to grasp the scope of his thought. In this book, Liszka presents a systematic and comprehensive acount of Peirce's theory, including the role of semiotic in the system of sciences, with a detailed analysis of its three main branches -- grammar, critical logic, and universal rhetoric.

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more