Ben, thanks for your outline - a very clear and succinct summary. Phyllis
Chiasson is an esteemed Peircean scholar - I appreiate her analysis of the NA.
A key factor in her analysis, with its focus on thought processes, is that it
permits atheism - while retaining all thought processes. I suspect that Jon's
interpretation doesn't permit such a result.
Edwina
----- Original Message -----
From: Ben Novak
To: Jerry Rhee
Cc: Jon Alan Schmidt ; Peirce-L
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2016 6:22 AM
Subject: Re: [PEIRCE-L] Peirce's Theory of Thinking
Dear Jerry, Jon, List:
Jerry R: "What do you take as the thing that determines it in Chiasson's
essay, then?"
The author, Phyllis Chiasson, states right up front:
This brief essay will show that, in demonstrating his meaning of abductive
reasoning, Peirce laid out the attitude and method from which all decisions of
importance to the conduct of a life should begin. It will then show, based upon
Peirce's Neglected Argument, that it is the attitude from which the abductive
reasoning process is undergone--and not a particular hypothesis resulting from
the abduction--which produces the sorts of hypotheses worthy of testing out by
means of making one's various life choices accordingly .
Later in her argument, she states what is essential for a "theory of
thinking," namely, a proper frame of mind to enter into thinking maximally
fruitfully:
What's being proposed here is the possiblity that the Actual consequence (as
Peirce defines Actual in N.A.) of the optimistic Musement stage of abductive
reasoning (the only way in which a sane person would perform this stage) is not
an hypothesis of the Reality of God, but rather the Reality of the sort of
hypotheses of which the Reality of God might be a type?
So, what is that reality? Chiasson suggests that it means two hypotheses:
Though God is a value-laden term for most people--the idea of God's Reality,
in Peirce's sense, does not have to signify a specific being--nor need it have
a religion connected up to it. It appears that Peirce's use of the term, God,
may have signified an ongoing inquiry into the [1] hypothesis that there is
meaning resulting from the way in which an individual conducts his life. This
meaning is a consequence of deliberate choices of conduct based upon having
abductively developed the [2] hypothesis that what he does matters to both the
immediate and ultimate outcome of things that may be beyond his ken.
Now, these two hypotheses (bolded) seem to me to be pretty important aspects
of any complete "theory of thinking." They also seem to be about as close to
suggesting the reality of God (at least as far as Chiasson describes what can
be meant by God) as one can possibly get.
That is the short version, according to Chiasson, who then delves into the
longer version: what is meant by the logic of abduction, suggesting the reason
why the Neglected Argument for the Reality of God is mostly devoted to Peirce's
most complete discussion of abduction. Thus she writes:
And that's the short version of of Peirce's "Neglected Argument for the
Reality of God" in action. But what does this essay mean in terms of Peirce's
pragmatism--in terms of the meaning of abduction?
When it comes to a real theory of thinking, what could be more relevant than
this:
Peirce's argument here appears to be much the same as all the rest that he
wrote about the role of abduction in pragmatism. He argued in this essay for
the place of optimistic meandering by means of abduction to develop the
hypothesis of God. (We could just as easily call this optimistic, aesthetic
meandering) He argued for the place of ethical principles as the basis for
developing the explication and demonstration of this hypothesis. He emphasized
the place of action-reaction-interpretation as the ongoing process for setting
out to prove the hypothesis of God-the same way as he would have us set about
to prove anything else. The only apparent difference between this essay and
Peirce's more 'scientific' ones is that the experiment in this case requires an
individual to consciously engage himself in the experience of living his life.
The proof--if it can be called that--resides in testing and adjusting as
necessary to the conditions of the hypothesis throughout the conduct of one's
life and not in any other objective measure.
This is directly relevant to Peirce's theory of thinking, because it goes to
the prerequisites of fruitful thinking, for example, writes Chiasson:
In 'A Neglected Argument for the Reality of God", then, Peirce really argued
for the Reality of the ways in which one's perspective (or vision) directs the
aesthetic
Chiasson certainly wraps it all up into a more complete theory of thinking:
It is in this sense that Peirce's "Neglected Argument for the Reality of God"
appears to make the most sense and to have the greatest application to human
conduct--and this may be, indeed, its very meaning. As Peirce wrote in "What
Pragamtism is":
But of the myriad forms in which a proposition may be translated, what
is that one which is to be called its very meaning? It is, according to the
pragmaticist, that form in which the proposition becomes applicable to human
conduct, not in these or those special circumstances, nor when one entertains
this or that special design, but that form which is most directly applicable to
self-control under every situation and to every purpose.
[32]
What more is there that the Hypothesis of God could mean?
If one can define accurately all of the conceivable experimental
phenomena which the affirmation or denial of a concept could imply, one will
have therein a complete definition of the concept, and there is absolutely
nothing else in it.
[33]
Perhaps Peirce's Neglected Argument is suggesting to us that this is it.
Perhaps this is all there is to the meaning of abduction and the meaning of
pragmatism that follows from this. Maybe this is the point from which we can
begin to understand what Peirce was hoping to do when he wrote to Lady Welby in
1911: "I am just now trying to get a small book written in which I positively
prove just what the justification of each of the three types of reasoning
consists in...and showing the real nature of Retroduction."
Returning to the question with which this email begins--Jerry R.: "What do
you take as the thing that determines it in Chiasson's essay, then?"--it seems
that Peirce's Neglected Argument really does revolve around all the themes we
have been talking about, namely
1) An argument for the reality of God
2) his laying out of abduction
3) a theory of thinking
and it seems like Chiasson has found a way to nest them all together rather
well. Her concluding sentence seems to be the first step to what Jon is looking
for when he commenced this thread as a quest to discover Peirce's theory of
thinking:
Perhaps it is by examining the activities at this earliest stage of abductive
reasoning (Musement)--where new possibilities first present themselves for
consideration--we can begin to build a clearer idea of what Peirce actually
intended for abduction--and his theory of pragmaticism to mean.
JerryR, I hope this answers your question.
Jon, I hope this furnishes a fruitful beginning for pursuing yours, which you
have made ours, too.
Ben N.
Ben Novak
5129 Taylor Drive, Ave Maria, FL 34142
Telephone: (814) 808-5702
"All art is mortal, not merely the individual artifacts, but the arts
themselves. One day the last portrait of Rembrandt and the last bar of Mozart
will have ceased to be—though possibly a colored canvas and a sheet of notes
may remain—because the last eye and the last ear accessible to their message
will have gone." Oswald Spengler
On Sun, Sep 18, 2016 at 9:18 PM, Jerry Rhee <[email protected]> wrote:
Jon,
I suppose that settles it then. For what is stated in your response is how
to make our ideas clear, or one over many.
Best,
JR
On Sun, Sep 18, 2016 at 8:15 PM, Jon Alan Schmidt
<[email protected]> wrote:
Jerry R., List:
JR: Is it your claim, then, that the actual proposition should matter?
All I am saying is that the title of Peirce's article strongly suggests
that it is primarily about a neglected argument for the Reality of God.
Regards,
Jon Alan Schmidt - Olathe, Kansas, USA
Professional Engineer, Amateur Philosopher, Lutheran Layman
www.LinkedIn.com/in/JonAlanSchmidt - twitter.com/JonAlanSchmidt
On Sun, Sep 18, 2016 at 6:13 PM, Jerry Rhee <[email protected]> wrote:
Jon, list:
You said:
“ I find it rather implausible that a work entitled "A Neglected
Argument for the Reality of God" was somehow intended to be more about "the
attitude and method from which all decisions of importance to the conduct of a
life should begin," such that the content of the hypothesis itself is secondary
or even irrelevant.”
That is an interesting statement. Is it your claim, then, that the
actual proposition should matter?
If it matters so much, then, what is it for this situation, the
proposition/hypothesis; that thing that makes the matter answerable?
That is, if "The hypothesis cannot be admitted, even as a hypothesis,
unless it be supposed that it would account for the facts or some of them?"
what is the argument in logical form for the NA? Where is the beginning of
such a thing?
Thanks,
Jerry R
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