Clear all
Work #404 · Early

The Fixation of Belief

Charles Sanders Peirce
1877 (Popular Science Monthly, November) · English
Pragmatist essay · American pragmatism

Peirce's 1877 foundational pragmatist essay — the four methods of belief-fixation

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Fixation of Belief (Early)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Fixation of Belief

The time of inquiry — doubt to belief.

Space

The Fixation of Belief

The cognitive space of belief-formation.

Matter

The Fixation of Belief

The material world about which beliefs are formed.

Observer

The Fixation of Belief

The inquiring rational subject.

Energy

The Fixation of Belief

Energies of doubt and inquiry.

Information

The Fixation of Belief

Pragmatist essay on four methods of belief-fixation.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Fixation of Belief

Peirce's pragmatic realism in continuing tension with later forms of pragmatism (Rorty).