List,

It would once again appear that Edwina and John expect everyone to have
always and only the same interests as they do. Edwina, for
example, characterizes anything else, notably, theorizing, as "an
irrelevant exercise" undertaken only by people who "prefer the isolation
and comfort of what [she calls] 'the seminar room'. . . far, far, far from
the real empirical objective world." Well, that's her opinion. I, for one,
do not share it.

As I have argued in the past, those of us who have other interests and
points of view find this intolerance a downright offense to free inquiry. I
consider the apparent conviction that, for example, all the relevant
theories in Peirce's semeiotic are *settled* and that only practical
applications are worthy of further investigation, narrow-minded and
misguided in the extreme. As I recently remarked, it takes but a glance at
the last several years of journal issues of *Transactions of the Charles S.
Peirce Society *to see that semeiotic theory is not only alive and well,
but is growing, evolving. There is, in the view of many, many Peirce
scholars, much more theoretical work to be done.

As I have said before and even all too recently, as list moderator I see
this continued intolerance for the views of others on this list as
amounting to little more than an attempt at seeking "to block the way of
inquiry." In his comments on the 'General Character of the Forum', Joseph
Ransdell, the founder of this forum, referred to the opposite of this
narrow-mindedness as "generosity of attitude."
https://arisbe.sitehost.iu.edu/PEIRCE-L/PEIRCE-L.HTM#forum-character

I will remind Peirce-L members that I serve as moderator of this list
solely at the pleasure of The Peirce Group which has always given me its
full support for my moderation principles and practices. Is there really
anyone in this forum who is prepared to argue again this principle of a
"generosity of attitude" as just set forth? If so, I would be eager to read
that argument.

Gary Richmond (writing as list moderator)

"Time is not a renewable resource." gnox

*Gary Richmond*
*Philosophy and Critical Thinking*
*Communication Studies*
*LaGuardia College of the City University of New York*
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