Peirce’s Epistemology

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-VIII

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2. Introduction

   • William H. Davis

   Pages 1-4

3. Inference: The Essence of All Thought

   • William H. Davis

   Pages 5-21

4. Hypothesis or Abduction: The Originative Phase of Reasoning

   • William H. Davis

   Pages 22-86

5. Fallibilism: The Self-Corrective Feature of Thought

   • William H. Davis

   Pages 87-115

6. Concrete Reasonableness: Cooperation Between Reason and Instinct

   • William H. Davis

   Pages 116-141

7. The Cartesian Circle: A Final Look at Scepticism

   • William H. Davis

   Pages 142-156

8. Back Matter

   Pages 157-163

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This work is an essay in Peirce's epistemology, with about an equal emphasis on the "epistemology" as on the "Peirce's." In other words our intention has not been to write exclusively a piece of Peirce scholarshiJ>­ hence, the reader will find no elaborate tying in of Peirce's epistemology to other portions of his thought, no great emphasis on the chronology of his thought, etc. Peirce scholarship is a painstaking business. His mind was Labyrinthine, his terminology intricate, and his writings are, as he himself confessed, "a snarl of twine." This book rather is intended perhaps even primarily as an essay in epistemology, taking Peirce's as the focal point. The book thus addresses a general philosophical audience and bears as much on the wider issue as on the man. I hope therefore that readers will give their critical attention to the problem of knowledge and the sugges­ tions we have developed around that problem and will not look here in the hope of finding an exhaustive piece of Peirce scholarship.

• Immanuel Kant
• epistemology
• knowledge
• mind
• reason
• scepticism

• Auburn University, USA

  William H. Davis

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