Gary R,
You raise a question that I got interested in last year, so I have some parts
of an answer on hand:
Peirce started writing about the categories of “First”, “Second” and “Third”
(capitalized) as early as 1885 (W5:236), using them as nouns rather than
adjectives, and not to denote an ordering of things. The first addition of the
“-ness” suffix that I’ve found is from 1886: “firstness” and “secondness” on
W5:300 (1886) and “thirdness” on the next page. Both forms occur in the “Guess
at the Riddle”. So he was using both forms simultaneously, and i’d say there’s
no precise time when he switched from the one to the other.
Gary f.
} The old order changeth and lasts like the first. [Finnegans Wake 486] {
<http://gnusystems.ca/wp/> http://gnusystems.ca/wp/ }{ Turning Signs gateway
From: Gary Richmond [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 28-Oct-15 14:34
To: Peirce-L <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [PEIRCE-L] RE: [biosemiotics:8918] Re: Peirce's categories
Gary F. list,
I agree with this analysis, Gary, and those in your earlier notes on the topic.
I think that another interesting research project might be to sort out how and
when and where Peirce uses first, second, and third to refer to his categories
rather than these words merely referring to 'entities'.
Although early in his career he sometimes uses first, second, and third to
refer to categories with no suffix -ness added, is there a moment when he
clearly switches over to the from with the -ness suffix?
In the Commens examples of Thirdness one sees him using 'Third' to refer to his
third category as late as 1888 in 'A Guess at the Riddle', while with the 1894
'The List of Categories: A Second Essay' (CP 1.328) he first (among these
excerpts) uses Thirdness to refer to his third category.
Had there been any process intervening between the causal act and the effect,
this would have been a medial,
or third, element. Thirdness, in the sense of the category, is the same as
mediation.
In all the following examples at Commens. 'Thirdness' is used to identify the
category. I should, however, add that in the 1903 Harvard Lectures he uses the
expression 'Category the Third' as well as Thirdness, and in several subsequent
entries, having identified the category as 'Thirdness', he goes on to discuss
firsts, seconds, and thirds in a context where there can be no question as to
their representing the categories (however, this seems rare).
In any event, this could make for an interesting--and useful--chapter in a
dissertation.
Best,
Gary R
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