Inquiry Into Inquiry

Re: Peirce List • Rafe Champion (1) (2)

Where to begin?  Perhaps in the middle …

In the early 90s — having spent a quarter of a century acquiring a bachelor’s in “Mathematical and Philosophical Method”, a master’s in mathematics, and master’s in psychology — I returned to grad school in a Systems Engineering program with the aim of “unifying the manifold” of unfinished projects I had begun in the years gone by.

My study of Peirce went back to my freshman year in college and many of my unfinished projects involved the development and extension of his ideas in one way or another.  The application to grad school asked for a statement of my current research interests.  I wrote out an eighty page essay, of which I submitted 20 pages plus a 20 page bibliography, being what I considered the more settled part of the overall vision.

There’s a copy of that here:

• Prospects for Inquiry Driven Systems

That may provide an indication of what I still regard as worthy goals but of course few people will ever read much of that, so I’ll make the old college try to succintify it as we go.

cc: Inquiry List • Peirce List (1) (2) (3)

Recent discussions have brought to mind a number of persistent problems in pragmatic thought, especially if we aim to apply Peirce’s conceptions to real practical effect in understanding pressing real-world phenomena.  Among the host of issues, the following two objectives rise to the fore.

1. To clarify the concept of a sign relation to the point where a full-fledged theory of signs can be developed on the basis of the resulting definition.
2. To comprehend semiosis, that is, the variety of sign processes, in a fully dynamic fashion, by augmenting the bare definition of a sign relation with a temporal dimension and the capacity to formulate laws of possibly goal-oriented temporal evolution.

Anyway, that’s the plan.

But I have a bunch of wikifying or maybe blogging to do before I can get back to work on the substantial issues.

cc: Inquiry List • Peirce List (1) (2) (3)

It looks like we might be due for one of our recurring reviews on the closely related subjects of definition and determination, with special reference to what Peirce himself wrote on the topics.

Arisbe List Archive

Here is a collection of excerpts on the subject of determination, mostly from Peirce but with a sampling of thoughts from other thinkers before and after him, on account of the larger questions of determinacy I was pursuing at the time

• Excerpts on Determination • May 2001 • Aug 2001

Collection Of Source Materials

One naturally looks to the Baldwin and Century dictionaries for Peirce-connected definitions of definition but I’d like to start with a series of texts I think are closer to Peirce’s own thoughts on definition, where he is not duty-bound to give a compendious account of every significant thinker’s point of view.  It may be a while before I get all the excerpts copied out.

• Excerpts on Definition
• Excerpts on Determination

cc: Inquiry List • Peirce List (1) (2) (3)