The Essential Peirce, Volume 1: Selected Philosophical Writings‚ (1867-1893) [Paperback]

Nathan Houser (Editor), Christian J.W. Kloesel (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0253207215 | ISBN-13: 978-0253207210 | Publication Date: November 22, 1992

"... a first-rate edition, which supersedes all other portable Peirces.... all the Peirce most people will ever need." —Louis Menand, The New York Review of Books

"The Monist essays are included in the first volume of the compact and welcome Essential Peirce; they are by Peirce's standards quite accessible and splendid in their cosmic scope and assertiveness." —London Review of Books

A convenient two-volume reader's edition makes accessible to students and scholars the most important philosophical papers of the brilliant American thinker Charles Sanders Peirce. This first volume presents twenty-five key texts from the first quarter century of his writing, with a clear introduction and informative headnotes. Volume 2 will highlight the development of Peirce's system of signs and his mature pragmatism.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Often considered the greatest American philosopher, Peirce produced no comprehensive treatise; until now, students and scholars had to read through widely scattered papers to gain an overall view of his thought. This anthology remedies that situation by offering a full representation of his work, including several hard-to-obtain items. The editors have arranged the material chronologically, so that the development of Peirce's ideas can be traced. Essays discuss such topics as the philosopher's new system of categories, pragmatism, signs, scientific progress, and evolutionary cosmology. The excellent introduction stresses Peirce's growing adherence to realism and his doctrine of signs. This volume ends in 1893; a second will cover the period from 1894 to his death in 1914. It is highly recommended for scholarly collections.
- David Gordon, Bowling Green State Univ., Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

NATHAN HOUSER is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Peirce Edition Project at Indiana University at Indianapolis. CHRISTIAN KLOESEL is Professor of English at Indiana University at Indianapolis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (November 22, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253207215
• ISBN-13: 978-0253207210
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Foundation material for how we think, August 21, 2001

By 

Donald Steiny (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Essential Peirce, Volume 1: Selected Philosophical Writings‚ (1867-1893) (Paperback)

I came to this book because I was inspired by "the Metaphysical Club" to learn more about the roots of pragmatism. The book is challenging. The Metaphysical Club points out that William James did not understand Peirce at first, so it is a bit much for mere mortals. It is especially daunting because the first essay is written with respect to Kant's categories, not something I know off of the top-of-my head.
However, as the books progresses many of the things that are assumed in the first essay are explained. For instance Peirce explains in detail what he means by a sign.

He discusses cognition, or consciousness and shows that logically our internal experience is based on external stimulation. It soon becomes impossible to ignore the fact that you are reading the works of a logician and that that is where he is coming from. But even though you might have to reread parts several times, once you master the arguements, it is satisfying indeed.

According to the introduction of the book and references, Peirce was influential. William James, Oliver Wendel Holmes and John Dewey were all influenced by him. Modern cognitive psychology owes much to William James. Psychology took a different direction through psychoanalysis and then behaviorism but cognitive psychology is now the dominate paradigm. Because of this Peirce has renewed importance.

My advice is to read it through once and not feel you have to get everything and the reread it because he explains things later that he assmes you know earlier.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Constellation of Logical Gems--and More, June 6, 2006

By 

Ole Anders (Coquina Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Peirce, Volume 1: Selected Philosophical Writings‚ (1867-1893) (Paperback)

People interested in the history and philosophy of logic will want to own this tour-de-force of selecting and editing. It contains large parts of Peirce's two most important contributions to mathematical logic: the 1880 "On the Algebra of Logic" and the 1885 "On the Algebra of Logic: A Contribution to the Philosophy of Notation" --both published in the American Journal of Mathematics, the same journal that brought out Russell's 1908 paper on the theory of types. Besides these two technical papers, which were influential in the development of mathematical logic, it also contains several more papers essential to understanding Peirce's philosophy of logic.