With the six volumes of the Writings edited by the Peirce Edition Project at Indiana University since 1982, the monumental work of Charles S. Peirce has finally received the care, respect, and love that it deserves. The sixth volume, object of attention of this review, represents a thorough selection and edition of Peirce's writings from 1886 to 1890.

Teoria e práticas semióticas -- Literatura e ideologia -- Apontamentos para a questão do ícone -- Arquitetura como processo de linguagem -- Por uma classificação da linguagem escrita.

In a brief overview this article discusses that, in the multifaceted field of cognitive sciences, the problem of consciousness and mind is far from being resolved. The article then argues that this problem is worked out in careful detail in Peirce’s work. Intelligence, hence mind, for Peirce, is distinct from consciousness. Without being dissociable, they are, in fact, distinct but complementary. Hence, Peirce’s ideas should be recovered not only for the sake of their relevance, but also because cognitivists have a (...) lot to learn from Peirce. (shrink)

Following Peirce's broad concept of semiosis as a foundation of a field ofsrudy, the semiotics ofphysical nanrre, it is argued that we have to explore the interconnections of Peirce's semiotics with metaphysics. These interconnections will be analyzed in five steps: (I) Peirce's radical antidualism and evolutionism, implied in his synechistic ideas, (2) Peirce's semiotic statement that "all this universe is perfused with signs if it is not composed exclusively of signs" (CP 5.448, n.l), (3) Peirce's bold statement that "matter is (...) effete mind, inveterate habits becoming physical laws" (CP 6.24), (4) his theory of final causation, which can only be properly understood in the light of semiosis, (5) his metaphysics and his methodeutics in relation to semiotics. The laws of nature are discovered by abductive inference revealing an affinity between the human mind and the designs of nature. Hence, the formal laws of thought are not simply laws of our minds but laws of the intelligibility of things. (shrink)

Peirce's statement that "all this universe is perfused with signs, if it is not composed exclusively of signs" has puzzled semioticians as much as his dictum of matter being "effete mind" has bewildered physicists and metaphysicians. Based on Peirce's broad concept of mind and on the presupposition that no pure, absolute secondness or brute reality can be found, neither in nature nor in thought, this paper discusses a possible way to overcome the semioticians' puzzlement and the metaphysicians' bewilderment. In the (...) metaphysical context of synechism, mind is synonymous with continuity; in the logical context of semiotics it is synonymous with semiosis. Mind is continuity and semiosis. In the light of synechism, human mind and physical matter are the two extremes of a very subtle and complex range of differentiations along the continuous time-arrow that constitutes nature. If mind, the one kind of stuff in the universe, is conceived of as semiosis, then semiotics supplies us with concepts to guide the conjunction between semiosis and the synechistic postulate of continuity between mind and matter. (shrink)

Resumo: Depois de 1900, Peirce esteve empenhado no desenvolvimento de sua teoria dos signos, particularmente na teoria dos interpretantes, e, ainda mais especificamente, na teoria dos interpretantes lógicos, pois nestes estaria a pedra de toque para a unificação do pragmatismo com a teoria dos signos. Em 1907, ele declarou que o problema do significado de um conceito intelectual só poderia ser resolvido com o estudo dos interpretantes, ou efeitos propriamente significados dos signos. Foi nesse contexto que Peirce elaborou sua famosa (...) subdivisão dos interpretantes em emocional, energético e lógico. Em 1968, Peirce havia afirmado que o interpretante de um pensamento é outro pensamento e que esse processo é teoricamente infinito. Muitos autores impressionados com essa afirmação, sem se darem ao trabalho de seguir o desenvolvimento desse conceito ao longo da obra de Peirce, concluíram pela tão citada semiose infinita. Umberto Eco, por exemplo, foi um dos autores a tirar partido dessa noção de infinitude. O objetivo deste trabalho é discutir a transformação por que esse conceito de interpretante passou na obra peirceana, especialmente depois de 1907, quando Peirce introduziu sua noção de interpretante lógico. Essa noção mudaria a idéia - que infelizmente continua sendo tão propalada - de que a semiose é um processo infinito abstrato, sem conexão com o agir humano. Se assim fosse, a semiose não teria conexão com o pragmatismo. Quando descobriu o papel do interpretante lógico no hábito e do interpretante último na mudança de hábito, Peirce aliou a natureza processual da semiose com o pragmatismo. Dessa síntese resultou o caráter evolucionista do seu pragmatismo.Palavras-chave: Interpretante lógico. Semiose. Hábito. Pragmatismo.: After 1900, Peirce engaged himself in the development of his theory of signs, particularly in the theory of interpretants and even more specifically in the theory of the logical interpretants, since the latter represented the touchstone for linking pragmatism to the theory of signs. In 1907, he declared that the problem of what the "meaning" of an intellectual concept is could only be solved by the study of the interpretants, or the proper significate effects of signs. It was within this concept that Peirce developed his famous subdivision of interpretants in emotional, energetic and logical. Peirce stated in 1968 that the interpretant of a thought is another thought, and that this process, theoretically, is infinite. Many authors impressed with this assertion, and without bothering to follow the progress of this concept throughout Peirce's works, favored that infinite semiosis, so often referred to. Umberto Eco, for instance, was one author who made extensive use of this notion of infinitude. The aim of this paper is to discuss the transformation that this concept of interpretant has undergone in Peircean works, particularly after 1907, when Peirce introduced his notion of the logical interpretant. This notion would come to change the idea - which unfortunately continues widespread - that semiosis is an abstract infinite process, unconnected with human action. Were it so, semiosis would bear no relation with pragmatism. When Peirce discovered the role of the logical interpretant in habit, and of the ultimate interpretant in the change of habit, he combined the processual nature of semiosis with pragmatism. From this synthesis derived the evolutionist character of his pragmatism.Key-words: Logical interpretant. Semiosis. Habit. Pragmatism. (shrink)

Resumo: O sinequismo é o pensamento que insiste na idéia da importância primordial da continuidade na filosofia. No seu aspecto metodológico, o sinequismo aponta para a necessidade de se levantar hipóteses que envolvam uma verdadeira continuidade. O principal motivo para isso é evitar hipóteses de que isto ou aquilo seja inexplicável, pois o sinequista defende que a única justificativa para uma hipótese é a de que ela forneça uma explicação para os fenômenos. O objetivo deste trabalho é explorar o aspecto (...) metodológico do sinequismo. É a concepção do sinequismo como um princípio regulativo da lógica, prescrevendo que espécie de hipótese deve ser mantida e examinada, que nos revela o significado pragmático do sinequismo que, segundo Peirce, apresenta uma correspondência muito próxima com o significado pragmático da mente.Palavras-chave: pragmatismo, Peirce, mente, sinequismo, hipótese.: Synechism is the kind of thought that insists on the idea of the primordial relevance of continuity in Philosophy. In its methodological aspect, synechism points to the need of raising hypotheses involving true continuity. The main reason for that is to avoid hypotheses that this or that is inexplicable, since the synechist claims that the only justification for a hypothesis is that it provides an explanation to phenomena. The aim of the present paper is to explore the methodological aspect of synechism. It is the conception of synechism as a regulative principle of Logic, prescribing the kind of hypothesis to be entertained and examined, that reveals to us the pragmatic meaning of synechism; a meaning that, for Peirce, presents a very close correspondence to the pragmatic meaning of Mind.Key-words: pragmatism, Peirce, mind, synechism, hypothesis. (shrink)

Desde meados do século 20, quando as ciências cognitivas desabrocharam e continuaram até hoje o seu caminho de avanços ininterruptos, os temas relativos à noção da consciência, a par das buscas de definição para os conceitos da mente, pensamento, inteligência etc. têm ocupado posição central nessas ciências e mesmo para além delas. Recentemente, a preocupação com esses conceitos cresceu com bastante ênfase a partir da explosão até agora bem-sucedida da inteligência artificial. O que é inteligência? Como a cognição humana se (...) distingue da cognição maquínica? Essas e outras interrogações similares se constituem em questões candentes. Diante disso, este artigo propõe desenvolver o conceito peirciano da mente com a convicção de que sua explanação cuidadosa pode trazer uma grande contribuição para as ciências cognitivas em geral e para os estudos sobre inteligência artificial em particular. (shrink)

The thesis defended in Giovanni Maddalena’s book, The Philosophy of Gesture. Completing Pragmatists’ Incomplete Revolution, is that the pragmatist project represents a sound way to face the Kantian dilemmas. However, this project was incomplete and to overcome this gap, the author builds the concept of “complete gesture,” based more particularly on the phenomenology and semiotics of C. S. Peirce. In addition to being well-built, the concept is inspiring, and this is clearly demonstrated in it...

Resumo: Este artigo tem por objetivo inserir a discussão do segundo pragmatismo de Peirce, por ele chamado de pragmaticismo, no contexto das ciências normativas, a saber, a estética, a ética e a lógica ou semiótica. Tendo por finalidade estudar os fins e ideais que guiam os sentimentos, a conduta e o pensamento humanos, as ciências normativas funcionam como chaves para a compreensão do ideal último do pragmaticismo que está no crescimento da razoabilidade concreta do mundo.: The aim of this article (...) is to discuss Peirce's second pragmatism, witch he called pragmaticism, within the framework of his normative sciences, i. e. aesthetics, ethics, and logic or semiotic. The scope of these sciences is the study of the aims and ideals that guide human feeling, behavior, and thought. The normative sciences function as a key to the understanding of the ultimate ideal of pragmatism, i. e., the grouth of concrete reasonableness in the world. (shrink)

A vida de Peirce teve um período de ascensão, seguido por um crescente declínio até o ponto de ter sobrevivido, na idade madura, na dependência cada vez mais necessária da generosidade de seu amigo William James. Este artigo acompanha as dificuldades, tortuosidades e vicissitudes, uma verdadeira saga vivida pela organização e publicação das 12.000 páginas que publicou em vida e das 100 mil páginas que deixou em manuscritos. As expectativas de uma publicação à altura do valor dessa obra e as (...) dificuldades para que isso se realize geram um desconcertante paralelismo entre os destinos da vida de Peirce e os de sua obra. (shrink)

My training in the field of languages - musical, visual, and verbal - was always marked by attention to the materiality of languages themselves and to the means how they are transmitted to allow their communicative functions. Since the phonatory system, installed in the body itself, these means constitute technologies that have evolved over the centuries, bringing with them new forms of languages, such as the different forms of writing, the Gutenberg galaxy and, from the 19th century onwards, the industrial, (...) electronic, and digital revolutions, each introducing technologies of their own. When language issues are placed in the focus of attention, what matters, since the industrial revolution, is the advent of cognitive technologies, such as photography, cinema, followed by electronic technologies - radio and television -, and, finally, the explosion of the digital revolution with all its new language forms and consequently of cognition, which today are distributed across the most different applications and platforms. The study of this evolution led me to postulate, based on the inspiration gathered from some authors, that human cognition is, since the first forms of writing, growing outside the human skull. Therefore, this is a proposal that concerns the exosomatization of human intelligence and cognition with all the contradictions that this brings. This article is dedicated to explaining this proposal with attention to the way it was developed in my work along the years. (shrink)

1. The First Seeds A number of scholars of international reputation visited Brazil at the end of the 1960s to give lectures and seminars. Among them were: Nicolas Ruwet, Abraham Moles, Max Bense, Roman Jakobson, Umberto Eco, and Tzvetan Todorov. More than any others, Jakobson’s lectures had deep and widespread effect on university circles and on the intellectual and artistic milieu. A while after his visit, a volume containing a series of Jakobson’s articles was translated and published in S...

In this era of terabytes and big data, the field of digital culture and art is witnessing an emergence of dystopian lines of criticism denouncing new forms of programmed governmentality and ubiquitous surveillance, placing societies, lifestyles and the human psyche under the control of algorithms. These criticisms are so negative because they start from a belief of human autonomy from technology. To examine the other side of this argument, this article aims to discuss the coevolution of humans and technology. To (...) accomplish this aim, the article is based on the writings and practice of the artist and theorist Roy Ascott, in whose work can be found the most original and significant conceptual sources for the defence of this thesis. (shrink)

This book provides new theoretical approaches to the subject of virtuality. All chapters reflect the importance of extending the analysis of the concept of “the virtual” to areas of knowledge that, until today, have not been fully included in its philosophical foundations. The respective chapters share new insights on art, media, psychic systems and technology, while also presenting new ways of articulating the concept of the virtual with regard to the main premises of Western thought. Given its thematic scope, this (...) book is intended not only for a philosophical audience, but also for all scientists who have turned to the humanities in search of answers to their questions. (shrink)

Drawing on many areas of expertise, from paleontology to psychology, Tomasello offers a plausible, evolutionary story abouthow our ancestors are likely to have developed cooperative behaviors and collaborative lifeways in order to survive and thrive.He also claims that this narrative explains why they would have begun to think in characteristically cooperative and moral ways,developing a “we is greater than me” [we>me] psychological orientation. Do the arguments offered support this extra claim? Thisarticle suggests that they do not. It seeks to alleviate (...) this shortcoming by drawing upon some conceptual resources offered bySartre’s Theory of Practical Ensembles. The centerpiece of the article consists of a detailed analysis of Sartre’s account of the genesisof the “group-in-fusion,” seeking to show that the genesis of a we-way of thinking in a group made up of many requires themediation of what Sartre calls a “third party” (le tiers). After closely examining Sartre’s treatment of the “third party” in theapocalyptic genesis of the “group-in-fusion,” I evaluate the success of this notion in resolving those questions that Tomasello’saccount raises while, at the same time, addressing the ontological question concerning the nature of the individual-grouprelation, in a way that suggests new and significant alternatives to standard dilemmas in contemporary social philosophy. (shrink)

Humans are social beings. However, we are not alone in the realm of social reality; we share this space with diverse entities, including more than just animals. The term "social" has recently been applied to describe the collective behaviors of microorganisms and plants, as well as interactions among parts and groups of organisms. Therefore, there is a need to develop a framework that enables the study of social phenomena in a clearer and less restrictive manner. In this thesis, I lay (...) the groundwork for such a framework by describing the basic building blocks of social systems and their implications in the study of social behavior. This project necessitates breaking down disciplinary boundaries between the biological, cognitive, and social sciences to provide a more comprehensive perspective on the social phenomenon. In Part I, I review recent proposals that describe social systems based on interactions. I argue that these models can be extended to other interactive systems beyond animals, questioning the limits of the standard view of social systems. Also, by challenging an argument that supports a gap between humans and nature, I advocate for a broader understanding of social reality that includes both human and nonhuman beings. In Part II, I present a new framework for studying social systems consisting of three fundamental building blocks: interactions, relationships, and social units. I argue that interactions are vital components of social systems, highlighting their dynamic and entwined nature. Relationships, arising from distinctive patterns of interactions sensitive to the identity of the individuals, play a crucial role in these systems and encompass both objective and subjective components. Lastly, I develop an account of social units as cognitively autonomous individuals, drawing on biogenic approaches to cognition. Thus, I propose that a social system emerges when cognitively autonomous individuals (social units) engage in repeated interactions and form relationships. In Part III, I apply this framework to two entities that are subjects of contemporary debate: groups and plants. I argue that both groups and plants are potential social units. Specifically, plants interact repeatedly and demonstrate the ability to differentiate between individuals, providing evidence of their capacity to form social relationships. This framework serves as a guide for studying the social behavior of these entities and offers valuable insights into their interactive systems. Overall, this expanded framework establishes connections between social phenomena across different taxa and levels of organization, facilitating comparative investigations. It introduces new perspectives on social behavior, encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, and broadens our understanding of multi-species interactions. (shrink)

O objetivo do presente artigo é defender as seguintes teses. Em primeiro lugar, as teorias da justiça de Habermas e Rawls devem ser vistas como duas versões do construtivismo kantiano, entendido como abordagem metaética que pretende reunir anti-realismo e cognitivismo forte. Em segundo lugar, o contraste com o “construtivismo reconstrutivista” de Habermas ajuda a esclarecer de que modo a teoria de Rawls atende à pretensão de universalidade própria do cognitivismo forte. Ao realçar o fato de que o construtivismo de Rawls (...) está baseado no trabalho reflexivo da consciência individual, o contraste com Habermas permite compreender em que sentido os conceitos de equilíbrio reflexivo e consenso sobreposto designam um ideal com pretensão de validade universal, o que desmente o particularismo implicado nas interpretações coerentistas e relativistas destes conceitos. (shrink)

Fichte wie auch später Sartre gewinnen vergleichbare Resultate auf der theoretischen Ebene hinsichtlich der ethischen Fundierung der Intersubjektivität im Selbstbewusstsein. Die Rolle der Ästhetik wird von beiden Denkern aufgrund ethischer Implikationen so bestimmt, dass sie die durch sie bestimmte Intersubjektivität auf praktischer Ebene zum Vorschein bringt. Die Ästhetik stellt bei beiden Autoren nicht einen Selbstzweck dar, sondern spielt eine herausragende Rolle für die Bildung der Menschen. Sartre wie auch Fichte brauchen die Ästhetik, um die Ethik zu fundieren. Während Sartre ein (...) unmittelbar lebensbezogenes ästhetisches Denken hat, in dem er ethische Aspekte in seiner Literatur anhand konkreter Beispiele verarbeitet, geht es Fichte in seinen Ausführungen zur Ästhetik vornehmlich um die Frage nach der Bedingung der Möglichkeit des ästhetischen Bewusstseins und darum, dieses als Voraussetzung des ethischen Bewusstseins zu bestimmen. Sartres Ethik offenbart sich vor allem in seinem ästhetischen Schaffen. Dem ästhetischen Moment in Sartres Ethik kommt die zentrale Aufgabe für die Entwicklung des ethischen Individualismus des Menschen und der gesamten Menschheit zu. Die Analogie zu Fichtes transzendentalkritischem Idealismus liegt in der Fundierungsrolle der Ästhetik für die Ethik in beiden philosophischen Konzeptionen, woraus eine aussagefähige Ethik in Sartres Existenzphilosophie resultiert. So zeigt sich In Sartres Literatur der direkte Wechselbezug zwischen praktischer Ethik und produktiver Ästhetik. Die Funktion der Ästhetik wird von Sartre dadurch bestimmt, dass in seinem Konzept mittels der Ästhetik die Vermittlung zwischen theoretischer und praktischer Vernunft geleistet wird. (shrink)

In late February and early March 2020, Italy became the European epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite increasingly stringent containment measures enforced by the government, the health system faced an enormous pressure, and extraordinary efforts were made in order to increase overall hospital beds’ availability and especially ICU capacity. Nevertheless, the hardest-hit hospitals in Northern Italy experienced a shortage of ICU beds and resources that led to hard allocating choices. At the beginning of March 2020, the Italian Society of Anesthesia, (...) Analgesia, Resuscitation, and Intensive Care issued recommendations aimed at supporting physicians in prioritizing patients when the number of critically ill patients overwhelm the capacity of ICUs. One motivating concern for the SIAARTI guidance was that, if no balanced and consistent allocation procedures were applied to prioritize patients, there would be a concrete risk for unfair choices, and that the prevalent “first come, first served” principle would lead to many avoidable deaths. Among the drivers of decision for admission to ICUs, age, comorbidities, and preexisting functional status were included. The recommendations were criticized as ageist and potentially discriminatory against elderly patients. Looking forward to the next steps, the Italian experience can be relevant to other parts of the world that are yet to see a significant surge of COVID-19: the need for transparent triage criteria and commonly shared values give the Italian recommendations even greater legitimacy. (shrink)

This paper describes a practice innovation: the addition of formal weekly discussions of patients with prolonged PICU stay to reduce healthcare providers’ moral distress and decrease length of stay for patients with life-threatening illnesses. We evaluated the innovation using a pre/post intervention design measuring provider moral distress and comparing patient outcomes using retrospective historical controls. Physicians and nurses on staff in our pediatric intensive care unit in a quaternary care children's hospital participated in the evaluation. There were 60 patients in (...) the interventional group and 66 patients in the historical control group. We evaluated the impact of weekly meetings to establish goals of care for patients with longer than 10 days length of stay in the ICU for a year. Moral distress was measured intermittently and reported moral distress thermometer scores fluctuated. "Clinical situations" represented the most frequent contributing factor to moral distress. Post intervention, overall moral distress scores, measured on the moral distress scale revised, were lower for respondents in all categories, and on three specific items. Patient outcomes before and after PEACE intervention showed a statistically significant decrease in PRISM indexed LOS, a statistically significant increase in both code status changes DNR, and in-hospital death, with no change in patient 30 or 365 day mortality. The addition of a clinical ethicist and senior intensivist to weekly inter-professional team meetings facilitated difficult conversations regarding realistic goals of care. The study demonstrated that the PEACE intervention had a positive impact on some factors that contribute to moral distress and can shorten PICU length of stay for some patients. (shrink)