> On Sep 10, 2016, at 7:57 PM, Gary Richmond <[email protected]> wrote: > > Edwina wrote: And I recall a Nobel Laureate in physics, in a conference, > declaring that Peircean semiotics was a vital analytic framework for physics. > > This might very well have been Ilya Prigogine, the Belgian physical chemist > who won the Nobel prize for his work in complex systems, irreversibility and > what, perhaps, he's become best known for, dissipative structures in > thermodynamic systems far from equilibrium. > > Several years ago I briefly discussed how he was influenced by Peirce as, for > example, he discussed it in Order Out of Chaos(1984) which he co-authored > with Isabel Stengers (Jaime Nubiola commented on the list that Prigogine was > probably introduced to Peirce by Stengers who, apparently, knew his work > well). > > “Peirce’s [work]. . . appears to be a pioneering step towards the > understanding of the pluralism involved in physical laws." Prigogine >
There appear to be a surprising number of physicists who are Peircean. Lee Smolin is a prominent one who used a lot of Peircean notions in his critique of physics culture and in particular string theory. Peirce pops up in various guises in many of his writings. Every now and then an article on him appears in Physics Today. While I don’t know enough string theory to say anything intelligent I know there are a few papers applying Peirce there including one by a Nicolaidis at the theoretical physics department at the University of Thessaloniki in Greece. Glancing at the paper it seems he’s trying to tie together Peirce and category theory. I’m actually frequently surprised that a Peircea style philosophy of science hasn’t been more prominent let alone more significant. That may just be reflecting my far more limited reading in that field of late.
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