First: someone needs to fix the "reply-to" on the list so that replies are
directed to it and not the author.
--
Dr. Steven Ericsson-Zenith
Institute for Advanced Science & Engineering
http://iase.info
On Mar 20, 2012, at 10:08 AM, Kenneth Ketner wrote:
> Steven and group: I had the same suspicion about the importance of family
> life in CSP's formative years, and I was able to find quite a bit about it,
> and show it in HIS GLASSY ESSENCE (available in the web used book sites, such
> as ADDALL) which is a life of Peirce through about 1867.
>
> Yes, James Peirce was indeed gay -- evidence is now clear (see HGE); the
> family accepted it; JP and Symonds were closely connected; JP had a career at
> Harvard despite it being known that he was gay.
>
> Ben Peirce had a long relationship with the "Queen of Science," well
> documented in HGE, including her hitherto unseen photograph; the Queen had an
> influence on Charley. Other family members likewise influenced him -- Admiral
> Davis; the lady who gave him a copy of Schiller's Aesthetische Breife; his
> brother James who gave him a copy of Whatley's Logic, and his aunt with whom
> he learned German and read Kant; a cousin who was a playmate. And of course
> his father, of whom he later said (paraphrase) If I amount to something it
> will be because of him, for he trained me. In particular, Ben's Ideality
> book was a strong influence as was Ben's talk on Genesis (in HGE). Ben's
> death in 1880 was particularly devastating, because Charley and Ben were a
> definite team in science and in life. Much more could be said.
>
> That is to state, you are definitely on the right track in looking at family
> for influence on Peirce's formative years, and for understanding some of his
> later ideas and accomplishments.
>
> On 20/03/2012 01:54, Steven Ericsson-Zenith wrote:
>> Dear List,
>>
>> I have an increasing interest in Benjamin Peirce and his son James, Charles'
>> elder brother. I am curious about Charles' relationship with his brother,
>> who continued his father's work teaching mathematics at Harvard. I wonder
>> about the relationship for a number of reasons, but it is primarily to fill
>> in the gaps for me concerning Charles Peirce's intellectual life and the
>> familial/social climate of the time.
>>
>> There is a strong indication in the literature that James was gay and
>> potentially the author (Prof X) of a particularly powerful and interesting
>> (in the sense of advanced and well-considered thinking) piece on the virtues
>> of homosexuality (or at least the reasons why there should be no objection
>> to it), and I note no disapproval or criticism of this by Charles or his
>> father. Given Charles' hardships later in life I also wonder whether James
>> (his brother) provided Charles with aid or property. And given the liberal
>> nature of the family I wonder about their view of Charles' later marriage.
>>
>> I continue to see the roots of many of Charles' ideas in the work of his
>> father, although their vocabulary and ways of speaking differ. Benjamin's
>> "Ideality In The Physical Sciences" is an especially interesting read and I
>> find myself revising my initial views concerning Charles' religious
>> background, that I have previously considered naive from his own writings.
>> Benjamin Peirce has an especially sophisticated sensibility for traditional
>> religious concerns (Kierkegaardian almost) and the relationship with
>> science, and he speaks eloquently about it. His view is certainly suggestive
>> of Charles' "unconsidered argument" and in many ways his view is more
>> sophisticated. Certainly his conception of "God" is not the anthropomorphic
>> conception and it is compatible with Charles' view in that I would not
>> expect Benjamin to object to the "unconsidered argument." I am trying to
>> decipher Benjamin's views on what I will call "universal will."
>>
>> As the picture becomes more fleshed out, the family of Benjamin Peirce as a
>> whole and Charles' "place" within it, leads me to expect that a fuller
>> understanding of this family, and its combined intellectual life, is
>> necessary for an understanding of Charles and his work.
>>
>> Does anyone have pointers for me or suggestions about where I can find more
>> help with this?
>>
>> With respect,
>> Steven
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dr. Steven Ericsson-Zenith
>> Institute for Advanced Science& Engineering
>> http://iase.info
>>
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>
> --
> Kenneth Laine Ketner
> Paul Whitfield Horn Professor
> Institute for Studies in Pragmaticism
> Texas Tech University
> Charles Sanders Peirce Interdisciplinary Professor
> Anita Thigpen Perry School of Nursing
> Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
> MAIL ADDRESS:
> Institute for Studies in Pragmaticism
> Texas Tech University
> Lubbock, TX 79409-0002
> 806 742 3128
> Office email: [email protected]
> Office website: http://www.pragmaticism.net
> Personal website: http://www.wyttynys.net
>
>
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