Charles Sanders Peirce · Philosophy

The Pragmatic Maxim: How to Make Our Ideas Clear

Peirce’s founding rule of pragmatism - that the whole meaning of any conception lies in its conceivable practical effects - and the three grades of clearness that lead up to it, grounded in his theory that a belief is a rule for action.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Peirce added a third, higher grade of clearness beyond ‘clear’ and ‘distinct’: trace a conception’s conceivable practical effects, because those effects are the whole of its meaning. Explain the maxim and why he tied the meaning of a thought to the habit of action it prod…

Leads to William James.

Begin this lesson →
← All lessons on Charles Sanders Peirce

epoché — a humanities education that remembers you.