Charles S. Peirce's Phenomenology

Analysis and Consciousness

Richard Kenneth Atkins

Conveys Peirce's heretofore misunderstood but distinct approach to phenomenology, drawing from unpublished writings
Shows Peirce's contribution in proving we can develop an objective phenomenological vocabulary based on formal logic
Argues that seeing a scarlet red is like hearing a trumpet's blare, contrary to the famous assertions of Locke and Nagel

Charles S. Peirce's Phenomenology

Analysis and Consciousness

Richard Kenneth Atkins

Description

No reasonable person would deny that the sound of a falling pin is less intense than the feeling of a hot poker pressed against the skin, or that the recollection of something seen decades earlier is less vivid than beholding it in the present. Yet John Locke is quick to dismiss a blind man's report that the color scarlet is like the sound of a trumpet, and Thomas Nagel similarly avers that such loose intermodal analogies are of little use in developing an objective phenomenology. Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), by striking contrast, maintains rather that the blind man is correct.

Peirce's reasoning stems from his phenomenology, which has received little attention as compared with his logic, pragmatism, or semiotics. Peirce argues that one can describe the similarities and differences between such experiences as seeing a scarlet red and hearing a trumpet's blare or hearing a falling pin and feeling a hot poker. Drawing on the Kantian idea that the analysis of consciousness should take as its guide formal logic, Peirce contends that we can construct a table of the elements of consciousness, just as Dmitri Mendeleev constructed a table of the chemical elements. By showing that the elements of consciousness fall into distinct classes, Peirce makes significant headway in developing the very sort of objective phenomenology which vindicates the studious blind man Locke so derides.

Charles S. Peirce's Phenomenology shows how his phenomenology rests on his logic, gives an account of Peirce's phenomenology as science, and then shows how his work can be used to develop an objective phenomenological vocabulary. Ultimately, Richard Kenneth Atkins shows how Peirce's pioneering and distinctive formal logic led him to a phenomenology that addresses many of the questions philosophers of mind continue to raise today.

Charles S. Peirce's Phenomenology

Analysis and Consciousness

Richard Kenneth Atkins

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One: The Kantian Insight
Chapter Two: The Place of "On a New List of Categories"
Chapter Three: Peirce's Reduction Thesis
Chapter Four: From Phenomenology to Phaneroscopy
Chapter Five: Phenomenological Investigation
Chapter Six: The Phenomenological Categories
Chapter Seven: How Seeing a Scarlet Red Is Like Hearing a Trumpet's Blare
Bibliography
Index

Charles S. Peirce's Phenomenology

Analysis and Consciousness

Richard Kenneth Atkins

Author Information

Richard Kenneth Atkins is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Boston College. He is author of Peirce and the Conduct of Life (2016) and Puzzled?! An Introduction to Philosophizing (2015) and co-editor of Peirce on Perception and Reasoning: From Icons to Logic (2017). His articles have appeared in British Journal for the History of Philosophy, European Journal of Philosophy, and Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, among other venues. He is Secretary-Treasurer of the Charles S. Peirce Society.

Charles S. Peirce's Phenomenology

Analysis and Consciousness

Richard Kenneth Atkins

Reviews and Awards

"This book... can be warmly recommended to anyone seriously interested not only in Peirce but in theway the "Kantian insight" informs modern and contemporary philosophical traditions more widely." -- Sami Pihlström, University of Helsinki, Metascience

"The scholarship is impeccable, and Atkins' learning is immense." -- Sami Pihlström, University of Helsinki, Metascience

"I find this work to be of the highest scholarly quality. It is based on truly profound knowledge of Peirce's writings in their historical context, and the author arrives at original insights concerning the relevance of Peirce's views." -- Sami Pihlström, University of Helsinki, Metascience

"Richard Atkins' meticulously researched new book is one of the most important contributions to Peirce scholarship this decade. Through a detailed, critical account of Peirce's phenomenology, its decades-long development, and its connections to other parts of Peirce's philosophical thought, Atkins demonstrates both that phenomenology was a central area of concern for Peirce and that his work in that area provides the basis of 'an objective phenomenological vocabulary' that is relevant to present issues. Charles S. Peirce's Phenomenology is a call to rethink the breadth and depth of Peirce's phenomenology, one to which all scholars of Peirce's work should attend." -- Robert Lane, University of West Georgia

"Richard Atkins is one of our very best contemporary Peirce scholars. This clear and sophisticated account of Peirce's important work on phenomenology is a wonderful contribution." -- Cheryl Misak, University of Toronto

"Charles S. Peirce's Phenomenology is clearly written, accessible, and well argued. Richard Atkins is keenly aware of the changes that took place in Peirce's phenomenological views, he positions himself well with regard to the existing secondary literature and is knowledgeable not only about the writings of Peirce that are in print, but also about the large trove of manuscripts that are still unpublished. A must-read for anyone that has an interest in phenomenology." -- Cornelis de Waal, Indiana University and Purdue University Indianapolis

"Richard Atkins is one of our very best contemporary Peirce scholars. This clear and sophisticated account of Peirce's important work on phenomenology is a wonderful contribution."-- Cheryl Misak, University of Toronto

"Charles S. Peirce's Phenomenology is clearly written, accessible, and well argued. Richard Atkins is keenly aware of the changes that took place in Peirce's phenomenological views, he positions himself well with regard to the existing secondary literature and is knowledgeable not only about the writings of Peirce that are in print, but also about the large trove of manuscripts that are still unpublished. A must-read for anyone that has an interest in phenomenology."-- Cornelis de Waal, Indiana University and Purdue University Indianapolis

"Richard Atkins' meticulously researched new book is one of the most important contributions to Peirce scholarship this decade. Through a detailed, critical account of Peirce's phenomenology, its decades-long development, and its connections to other parts of Peirce's philosophical thought, Atkins demonstrates both that phenomenology was a central area of concern for Peirce and that his work in that area provides the basis of 'an objective phenomenological vocabulary' that is relevant to present issues. Charles S. Peirce's Phenomenology is a call to rethink the breadth and depth of Peirce's phenomenology, one to which all scholars of Peirce's work should attend."-- Robert Lane, University of West Georgia