[FOM] Is logic prescriptive or descriptive?

Jon Awbrey jawbrey at att.net
Thu Jul 12 11:28:50 EDT 2012


The question of logic's normative status frequently comes up in discussions of C.S. Peirce's philosophy.

Here is a passage from a grant proposal where Peirce defines logic as "formal semiotic", in other words, the formal theory of signs:

http://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2012/06/01/c-s-peirce-•-on-the-definition-of-logic/

The fact that he uses "formal" in this context to mean roughly the same thing as "normative" can be gleaned from numerous other statements, for example, this one:

http://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2012/06/04/c-s-peirce-•-logic-as-semiotic/

Regards,

Jon


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