Peirce and the Conduct of Life: Sentiment and Instinct in Ethics and Religion

239 Pages·2016·1.813 MB·English

by  Richard Atkins

Peirce and the Conduct of Life
AlthoughCharlesSandersPeirce(1839–1914)isregardedasthefounding
father of pragmatism and a key figure in the development of American
philosophy, his practical philosophy remains under-acknowledged and
misinterpreted. In this book, Richard Kenneth Atkins argues that Peirce
didinfacthavedevelopedandsystematicviewsonethics,onreligion,and
onhowtolive,andthattheseviewsarebothplausibleandrelevant.Drawing
on a controversial lecture Peirce delivered in 1898 and related works, he
examines Peirce’s theories of sentiment and instinct, his defense of the
rational acceptability of religious belief, his analysis of self-controlled
action, and his pragmatic account of practical ethics, showing how he
developed his views and how they interact with those of his great
contemporaryWilliamJames. ThisstudyisessentialforscholarsofPeirce
andforthoseinterestedinAmericanphilosophy,pragmatism,philosophyof
religion,philosophyofaction,andethics.
richardkennethatkinsisAssistantProfessorofPhilosophyatBoston
College. He is the author of Puzzled?! An Introduction to Philosophizing
(2015)andnumerousessaysonthephilosophyofCharlesSandersPeirce.
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Peirce and the Conduct
of Life
SentimentandInstinctinEthicsandReligion
richard kenneth atkins
AssistantProfessorofPhilosophy
BostonCollege
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ForBožanka
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Contents
Acknowledgments pageviii
Introduction 1
1 Peirce’s“ParadoxicalIrradiations”andJames’s
TheWilltoBelieve 6
2 ADefenseofPeirce’sSentimentalConservatism 34
3 HeedingtheCallofOne’sSavior 83
4 OnBecomingWeldedintotheUniversalContinuum 138
5 Self-ControlandMoralResponsibility 166
6 PeirceandPracticalEthics 194
Bibliography 220
Index 228
vii
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Acknowledgments
Anumberofpeoplehavemadeitpossibleformetowritethisbookand
seeit topublication.Foremost amongthemismy wife, towhom this
bookisdedicatedandwhoseloveandsupportthroughtheyearshave
afforded me both the time and peace of mind to think about these
philosophicalquestions.Myparents-in-law,PetarandCvetanka,have
provided invaluable help in keeping our household functioning,
ensuring our children are attended to, and just generally making our
lives more pleasant. The community of Peirce scholars is a constant
source of support, encouragement, and insights. There are too many
people to mention here, but I am especially grateful to Robert Lane,
CherylMisak,CornelisdeWaal,andAndréDeTienne.BostonCollege
and my colleagues in the Philosophy Department have seen to it that
Ihaveampletimeandapleasantenvironmentinwhichtoconductmy
research,forwhichIamthankful.Muchoftheresearchforthisbook
wasconductedinHoughtonLibraryatHarvard,andIthankthestaff
therefortheirkindsupport.IamespeciallygratefultoHilaryGaskin
andCambridgeUniversityPressforbringingthisbooktoprint.
Portionsofthisbookhavepreviouslyappearedinprint.Chapter1–
“Peirce’s‘ParadoxicalIrradiations’andJames’sTheWilltoBelieve”–
isreprintedwithpermissionofIndianaUniversityPress,Journals,and
appeared in Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, 51:2,
173–200, © 2015. The portion of Chapter 4 on Peirce’s esthetics is
a modest revision of an article first published as “The Pleasures of
Goodness: Peircean Aesthetics in the Light of Kant’s Critique of the
Power of Judgment,” Cognitio, 9:1, 13–25. The material is reprinted
herewiththeauthorizationofCognitio’seditors.Finally,theportionof
Chapter5onpsychologicalhedonismoriginallyappearedas“Peirce’s
CritiqueofPsychologicalHedonism”inBritishJournalfortheHistory
of Philosophy, 23:2, 349–367. I thank each of these publishers for
permission to reprint the essays here, and I thank the editors and
reviewersfortheirtimeandenergiesspentontheseessays.
viii
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Introduction
CharlesSandersPeirceisnotwellknownforhispracticalphilosophy.
Scholars widely appreciate his groundbreaking work in mathematics,
logic,andsemiotics,abstrusethoughitsometimesis.Butoftheprag-
matists, William James is typically regarded as the one who has the
mosttotellusabouttheconductofourlives.Peirce’sairistoorarified.
Theaimofthisbookistocorrectthismisapprehension.Notonlydid
Peirce have a practical philosophy – an account of how we should
conduct our lives – it is remarkably different from William James’s.
In fact, Peirce develops his own views in response to positions that
JamesespousesinTheWilltoBelieve.Peirce’stheoriesarebothplau-
sibleandrelevanttocontemporarydebatesinethics,thephilosophyof
religion,andthephilosophyofaction.
Peircebelievesthatphilosophy,includingethicsandthephilosophy
of religion, should be strictly scientific. As such, its inquiries must be
conducted rigorously and its present conclusions regarded as provi-
sional.Yetifourbestethicalandreligioustheoriesareprovisionaland
investigationintothemisongoing,howoughtwetoconductourlives
inthemeantime?IntheopinionofWilliamJames,weoughtnottolet
our ethical and religious theories “lie hid each under its bushel” but
should allow them to directly inform our conduct. By allowing our
theoriestovieforchampionsinthepublicsphere,Jamesbelievesthat
wewillbeabletodiscernwhichtheoryistrue.Thetruetheorywillbe
theonethatsurvivesbygainingchampions.
James first articulates this position in The Will to Believe, which he
dedicatestohisoldandgoodfriendCharlesSandersPeirce.Peirce,how-
ever, finds James’s view appalling. In his lecture “Philosophy and the
Conduct of Life,” Peirce takes a staunch stance, arguing that given the
“infantilecondition”ofphilosophyascomparedwithothersciencessuch
asphysicsandchemistry,weoughtnottoconductourlivesaccordingto
ourphilosophicaltheoriesbutonthebasisofoursentimentsandinstincts.
Onhisview,weshouldallowourtheoriestoliehidundertheirbushels.
1
(cid:24)(cid:33)(cid:33)(cid:30)(cid:32)(cid:13) 2:6(cid:2):(cid:31)4 (cid:5)(cid:4)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:10) (cid:15)(cid:14)(cid:16)(cid:12)(cid:10)(cid:11)(cid:5)(cid:7)(cid:5)(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:9)(cid:6)(cid:8)(cid:4)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:1).(cid:34)176(cid:32)(cid:24)32(cid:1):97693(cid:1)1(cid:36)(cid:1)(cid:15)081(cid:31)6243(cid:1)/96(cid:35)3(cid:31)(cid:32)6(cid:33)(cid:36)(cid:1).(cid:31)3(cid:32)(cid:32)
2 Introduction
Peirce’s position is remarkably different from what might be
assumed. Suppose, for instance, that a man’s mother suffers from a
debilitatingdisease,thatonecanextendherlifethroughmedicalinter-
vention, but that extending her life will utilize resources that can be
utilized in ways thatwill bring aboutmore happinessand lessmisery
intheworldthaniftheyareutilizedforher.Nowsuppose,moreover,
thatthatmanendorsesactutilitarianism.IfJamesiscorrect,itfollows
thatthemanoughtnottoextendhismother’slife.IfPeirceiscorrect,it
follows that the man’s philosophical commitments ought not to bear
muchonhisdeliberations.Hewouldnotbeblameworthyforfailingto
conformhisconducttohisphilosophicalcommitments.
Thatisathinlyveiledexample,butithighlightsthecentraldifference
between the views of James and Peirce. Yet it might also sound like
a strange position for a philosopher – the founder of pragmatism, no
less–toadopt.Infact,nootherpieceinPeirce’scorpushasproduced
suchdivergentopinionsamongPeircescholarsas“Philosophyandthe
Conduct of Life” has. On one side, Cheryl Misak has claimed that
because Peirce’s comments in the lecture are doubtful and because
Peirce was ashamed at having to rely on the goodness of William
James, “these remarks simply cannot be taken seriously” (2004,
164). Similarly, Christopher Hookway has maintained that some of
Peirce’s comments in the lecture are out of line with the rest of his
writings and are rather a “temporary lapse from philosophical good
sense”(2000,23).
InstarkcontrasttotheassessmentsofMisakandHookway,Mark
Migotti has asserted that Peirce’s lecture is “as carefully crafted and
searchingapieceofphilosophyasanyinhiscorpus.Sofarfrombeing
anomalous,thelectureseemstometoprovidestrongevidenceforthe
claimthatPeirce’soeuvrebearsthroughoutthestampof‘acompletely
determinatephilosophicalsensibility’”(2004,302).Migotti(2005)has
shown in particular that one of Peirce’s more doubtful claims in the
lecture–thatbeliefhasnoplaceinscience–ismuchmorepalatableif
wereaditinthecontextofotherclaimsthatPeircemakes.
Inmyjudgment,MigottiiscorrectthatPeirce’slectureisascarefully
craftedandassearchingasanyofPeirce’sotherworks.Yetmuchmore
mustbedonetoshowthattheideasPeircedevelopsin“Philosophyand
theConductofLife”continuetoinformhislaterwork.Whereasother
scholarshavefocusedonPeirce’sepistemologicalcommitmentsinthat
lecture,thisbookexamineswhatPeircehastotellusabouttheconduct
(cid:24)(cid:33)(cid:33)(cid:30)(cid:32)(cid:13) 2:6(cid:2):(cid:31)4 (cid:5)(cid:4)(cid:2)(cid:5)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:10) (cid:15)(cid:14)(cid:16)(cid:12)(cid:10)(cid:11)(cid:5)(cid:7)(cid:5)(cid:9)(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:9)(cid:6)(cid:8)(cid:4)(cid:2)(cid:4)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:1).(cid:34)176(cid:32)(cid:24)32(cid:1):97693(cid:1)1(cid:36)(cid:1)(cid:15)081(cid:31)6243(cid:1)/96(cid:35)3(cid:31)(cid:32)6(cid:33)(cid:36)(cid:1).(cid:31)3(cid:32)(cid:32)