[Inquiry] Re: Semiotics Of Misrepresentation -- Discussion

[Jon Awbrey]

o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o

SOM.  Discussion Note 5

o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o~~~~~~~~~o

GR = Gary Richmond

Re: SOM-DIS 4.  http://stderr.org/pipermail/inquiry/2005-May/002620.html
In: SOM-DIS.    http://stderr.org/pipermail/inquiry/2005-May/thread.html#2620

GR: Example of a ~sinphenomenon:

| Not only may generals be real, but they may also be 'physically efficient',
| not in every metaphysical sense, but in the common-sense acception in which
| human purposes are physically efficient.  Aside from metaphysical nonsense,
| no sane man doubts that if I feel the air in my study to be stuffy, that
| thought may cause the window to be opened.  My thought, be it granted,
| was an individual event.  But what determined it to take the particular
| determination it did, was in part the general fact that stuffy air is
| unwholesome, and in part other 'Forms', concerning which Dr. Carus
| has caused so many men to reflect to advantage ....  So, then, when
| my window was opened, because of the truth that stuffy air is malsain,
| a physical effort was brought into existence by the efficiency of a
| general and non-existent truth.  This has a droll sound because it
| is unfamiliar;  but exact analysis is with it and not against it;
| and it has besides, the immense advantage of not blinding us to
| great facts -- such as that the ideas "justice" and "truth" are,
| notwithstanding the iniquity of the world, the mightiest of the
| forces that move it.  Generality is, indeed, an indispensable
| ingredient of reality;  for mere individual existence or
| actuality without any regularity whatever is a nullity.
| Chaos is pure nothing.
|
| C.S. Peirce, 'Collected Papers', CP 5.431

And to that, I have nothing to add ...

Jon Awbrey

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