[Inquiry] Re: Sign Relations -- Commentary

[Jon Awbrey]

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SR.  Commentary Note 32

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Peirce List,

Let's look at one of Peirce's most endearing impressions of
determination, the example of a raindrop falling on a stone.
If reluctantly, it's our duty now to analyze its impression,
and to articulate its inherent nuances in unrecondite terms.

| To determine means to make a circumstance different from what
| it might have been otherwise.  For example, a drop of rain
| falling on a stone determines it to be wet, provided the
| stone may have been dry before.  But if the fact of
| a whole shower half an hour previous is given,
| then one drop does not determine the stone to
| be wet;  for it would be wet, at any rate.
|
| C.S. Peirce, 'Chronological Edition', CE 1, 245-246
|
| Charles Sanders Peirce, "Harvard Lectures 'On the Logic of Science'", (1865),
|'Writings of Charles S. Peirce: A Chronological Edition, Volume 1, 1857-1866',
| Peirce Edition Project, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN, 1982.
| Cf: DET 13.  http://stderr.org/pipermail/inquiry/2004-December/002209.html
| In: DET.     http://stderr.org/pipermail/inquiry/2004-December/thread.html#2197

In saying that a Rain Drop determines a Dry Stone to become a Wet Stone,
we are not talking a single sequence of occurrences merely, but about a
system, the Stone, that has distinct states, Dry and Wet, and that will
undergo definite changes of state under the action or influence of some
some kind of agency, in this case a Rain Drop, more accurately observed
a mere sample from a more general system of activity, a Rain Storm, say,
and which in fact determines a "transformation" of the "phase space" of
the Stone into itself, that is, a function from the domain of states to
itself, having the form Rain : {Dry, Wet} -> {Dry, Wet}, as shown below.

` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` Dry Stone ` O ` ` ` O ` Wet Stone ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `\` ` ` | ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` \ ` ` | ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `\` ` | ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` Rain`Drop ` ` ` v ` v ` Rain Drop ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `\` | ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` \ | ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `\| ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` Dry Stone ` ` ` ` ` O ` Wet Stone ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `

Thus Peirce's Parable Of The Rain Drop quite well illustrates
the minimal features implued in talking about "determination".

Jon Awbrey

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inquiry e-lab: http://stderr.org/pipermail/inquiry/
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