Abstract

Like Leibniz, C. S. Peirce drew much of the inspiration for his philosophical work from a close study of logical and mathematical reasoning. Now what insights did this study reveal to Peirce? His own answer is formulated as follows: “My first real discovery about mathematical procedure was that there are two kinds of necessary reasoning, which I call the Corollarial and the Theorematic.…” The import of this discovery was lost on philosophers for a long time. The purpose of the present paper is to show what Peirce's insight amounts to, to point out some of its applications, relate it to certain recent developments in the philosophy of logic, and thereby vindicate Peirce's distinction. This undoubtedly will also help to show its present day relevance.