Peirce the Logician: Pragmati(ci)st Anticipations of Modern Logic

Abstract

This dissertation argues that each of Charles S. Peirce's most impressive anticipations of modern logic are rooted in his universal categories--his triadic method of conceptual analysis. In chapter one, I argue for a quasi-type-theoretic interpretation of the universal categories based on the medieval notions of first and second intentionality. In chapter two, I discuss Peirce's algebraic systems of logic and argue that his discovery of quantification theory was rooted in his triadic analysis of the types of signs. In chapter three, I discuss Peirce's architectonic classification of the sciences, which is also based on the universal categories, and demonstrate its involvement in his delineation of logic as a science distinct from psychology and mathematics. The final chapter is devoted to the three branches of logic borne out of Peirce's triadic method.