Abstract

The paper compares the way in which Ludwig Wittgenstein and Charles S. Peirce deal with 'facts of life', or the ordinary. Starting from the former's well-known remark on forms of life as 'the given', it shows its proximity to some themes also explored by Peirce. This leads to examine in more detail the Peircean notion of habit and its connection with the everyday, an aspect on which the two philosophers bear interesting similarities. The examination of the only remark Wittgenstein expressed on Peirce, still largely neglected in literature, also highlights relevant differences. The paper concludes on how, differences notwithstanding, both thinkers consider 'facts of life' as the proper terrain of philosophical activity.