Abstract
Peirce’s entire semiotic rests upon his concept of habit. In supplying us with his categories, together with virtual habit as potential habit, Peirce opens up pregnant propositions, assertions, and arguments to arrive at novel inferences in the continuum of ideas. He makes emphatic his commitment to unify all members, by demonstrating the relevance of momentary, individual existents to the improvement of logic for all generations. Accordingly, habit welds members of the continuum—championing each accomplishment (physical, mental, conscious/unconscious), in light of their contribution to ontological and logical objectivity at large. In short, the compulsion to discover hidden patterns of truth for mankind provides a lofty purpose for the individual—to utilize signs (consciously and unconsciously) as tools of enlightenment beyond the self.
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Notes
- 1.
A portion written in The Monist in which he emphasizes his primary application of habit to pragmatic genres “…that in this way one can put in strong light a position which the pragmatist holds and must hold…” (5.436: 1904).
- 2.
“In fact, habits, from the mode of their formation, necessarily consist in the permanence of some relation…each law of nature would consist in some permanence such as the permanence of mass, momentum, and energy” (1887–1888: W6: 210).
- 3.
“Love not the Heav’nly spirits? And how their Love Express they? By looks only? Or do they mix Irradiance, virtual or immediate touch” (Paradise Lost VIII.615–617)?
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West, D.E. (2016). Epilogue—Reflections on Complexions of Habit. In: West, D., Anderson, M. (eds) Consensus on Peirce’s Concept of Habit. Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics, vol 31. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45920-2_23
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