o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o Note 4
o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o Objective Logic (cont.) Aristotelianism admitted two modes of being. This position was attacked by William Ockham, on the ground that one kind sufficed to account for all the phenomena. The hosts of modern philosophers, to the very Hegels, have sided with Ockham in this matter. But now the question comes before us for reëxamination: What are the modes of being? One might antecedently expect that the cenopythagorean categories would require three modes of being. But a little examination will show us that they could be brought into fairly presentable accordance with the theory that there were only two, or even only one. The question cannot be decided in that way. Besides, it would be illogical to rely upon the categories to decide so fundamental a question. The only safe way is to make an entirely fresh investigation. But by what method are we to pursue it? In such abstract questions, as we shall have already found, the first step, often more than half the battle, is to ascertain what we mean by the question — what we possibly ''can'' mean by it. We know already how we must proceed in order to determine what the meaning of the question is. Our sole guide must be the consideration of the use to which the answer is to be put — not necessarily the practical application, but in what way it is to subserve the ''summum bonum''. Within this principle is wrapped up the answer to the question, what being is, and what, therefore, its modes must be. It is absolutely impossible that the word “Being” should bear any meaning whatever except with reference to the ''summum bonum''. This is true of any word. But that which is true of one word in one respect, of another in another, of every word in some or another respect, that is precisely what the word “being” aims to express. There are other ways of conceiving Being — that it is that which manifests itself, that it is that which produces effects — which have to be considered, and their relations ascertained. — Charles S. Peirce, “Minute Logic” (1902), CP 2.116 o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o academia: http://independent.academia.edu/JonAwbrey inquiry list: http://stderr.org/pipermail/inquiry/ mwb: http://www.mywikibiz.com/Directory:Jon_Awbrey oeiswiki: http://www.oeis.org/wiki/User:Jon_Awbrey word press blog 1: http://jonawbrey.wordpress.com/ word press blog 2: http://inquiryintoinquiry.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this message because you are subscribed to the PEIRCE-L listserv. To remove yourself from this list, send a message to lists...@listserv.iupui.edu with the line "SIGNOFF PEIRCE-L" in the body of the message. To post a message to the list, send it to PEIRCE-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
