Hermitix The Work of Charles Sanders Pearce with Toby Chappell
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Oct 1, 2025 Toby Chappell, a musician, writer, and lecturer specializing in language and magic, dives deep into the life of Charles Sanders Peirce. He explores Peirce's unique triadic sign model, detailing how icons, indexes, and symbols function in meaning-making. Chappell discusses Peirce's pragmatic maxim and the role of abduction in hypothesis generation. He also critiques modern AI through Peirce's lens, emphasizing the importance of lived experience. This engaging conversation highlights Peirce's lasting influence on philosophy and language.
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Peirce's Obsessive Work Ethic And Hardship
- Charles Sanders Peirce lived and worked obsessively, writing late into the night and producing vast quantities of material.
- He experienced long-term financial struggle after losing appointments and buying an oversized house he could not afford.
Meaning Lies In Conceivable Practical Effects
- Peirce's pragmatic maxim ties meaning to conceivable practical effects rather than only observed outcomes.
- He emphasized how conceiving possible effects refines our conceptions and meanings of objects.
Signs Are Triadic, Not Dyadic
- Peirce framed signs triadically: object, representamen, and interpretant, not merely as signifier/signified.
- The interpretant is the sign's effect and is central to how meaning is produced and tested.
