The process of ‘logical differentiation’ was introduced by Peirce in 1870. Directly analogous to mathematical differentiation, it uses logical terms instead of mathematical variables. Here, this mysterious process receives new interpretations which serve to clarify Peirce’s use of logical terms. I introduce the logical terms, the operation of multiplication, the logical analogy to the binomial theorem, infinitesimal relatives, the concepts of numerical coefficients and the number associated with each term. I also analyse the algebraic development of ‘logical differentiation’ and consider (...) in depth one application of the process. (shrink)

Nathan Houser, Don D. Roberts and James Van Evra (eds), Studies in the Logic of Charles Sanders Peirce, In:Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana University Press, 1997, xiii + 653 pp. £41.95. ISBN 0-253-33020-3.