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Charles Sanders Peirce (1839--1914) has often been referred to as one of the most important North American philosophers, but the real extent of his philosophical importance is only now beginning to emerge. Peirce's `pragmaticism' (his own term) may provide the key to an epistemological theory which avoids both the Scylla of foundationalism and the Charybdis of relativism. Peirce's `Logic', linked to a conception of knowledge and of science, is increasingly coming to be recognised as the only possible one. In Living Doubt, 26 papers are presented by some of the world's leading philosophers, demonstrating the rich and cosmopolitan variety of approach to Peirce's epistemology. The contributions are grouped under three general headings: Knowledge, truth and the pragmatic principle; Peirce and the epistemological tradition; and Knowledge, language and semeiotic.
From Cause to Causation presents both a critical analysis of C.S. Peirce's conception of causation, and a novel approach to causation, based upon the semeiotic of Peirce. The book begins with a review of the history of causation, and with a critical discussion of contemporary theories of the concept of `cause'. The author uncovers a number of inadequacies in the received views of causation, and discusses their historical roots. He makes a distinction between "causality", which is the relation between cause and effect, and causation, which is the production of a certain effect. He argues that, by focusing on causality, the contemporary theories fatally neglect the more fundamental problem of causation. The author successively discusses Peirce's theories of final causation, natural classes, semeiotic, and semeiotic causation. Finally, he uses Peirce's semeiotic to develop a new approach to causation, which relates causation to our experience of signs.
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839--1914) has often been referred to as one of the most important North American philosophers, but the real extent of his philosophical importance is only now beginning to emerge. Peirce's pragmaticism' (his own term) may provide the key to an epistemological theory which avoids both the Scylla of foundationalism and the Charybdis of relativism. Peirce's Logic', linked to a conception of knowledge and of science, is increasingly coming to be recognised as the only possible one. In Living Doubt, 26 papers are presented by some of the world's leading philosophers, demonstrating the rich and cosmopolitan variety of approach to Peirce's epistemology. The contributions are grouped under three general headings: Knowledge, truth and the pragmatic principle; Peirce and the epistemological tradition; and Knowledge, language and semeiotic.
The domain of nonlinear dynamical systems and its mathematical underpinnings has been developing exponentially for a century, the last 35 years seeing an outpouring of new ideas and applications and a concomitant confluence with ideas of complex systems and their applications from irreversible thermodynamics. A few examples are in meteorology, ecological dynamics, and social and economic dynamics. These new ideas have profound implications for our understanding and practice in domains involving complexity, predictability and determinism, equilibrium, control, planning, individuality, responsibility and so on. Our intention is to draw together in this volume, we believe for the first time, a ...