Edwina ~ I agree the original quote represented a nominalist perspective of logic - which I previously called a black box whose contents forever remain a mystery. But that quote 'almost' painted a picture of the dynamics of connecting objects to interpretants in the brain, so I touched up the image with a few facts from Wikipedia.
More broadly, the philosopher's perspective of logic is (appropriately) different from that of one who uses logic as a tool for Pragmatic purposes. Sometimes, failing to make that distinction leads to misunderstood comments about logic. Philosophers almost never observe logic until after the deed is done. They always use words. Sometimes they express ideas about logic in lyrical/rhetorical ways to persuade others their insights are true. It is possible to 'win' a debate among philosophers while actually being wrong, so the search for truth may be long delayed. Those who use logic as a tool have a more dynamic perspective. They're concerned with solving several puzzles simultaneously, looking ahead rather than behind, mediating between different objectives, abducting on the fly. Errors are quickly exposed by a Pragmatic universe that does not yield to false beliefs. Regards, Tom Wyrick On Oct 23, 2015, at 2:19 PM, Edwina Taborsky <tabor...@primus.ca> wrote: Thomas - I think that Gary F's outline is, as I said, postmodernism - grounded in Derrida's 'differance' and 'presence'...and 'rhetoric' [taking names]. Nothing to do with Peirce and I don't see that Derrida was a scholar of Peirce (he was more firmly Saussurian). Edwina ----- Original Message ----- From: Thomas To: g...@gnusystems.ca Cc: peirce-l@list.iupui.edu Sent: Friday, October 23, 2015 2:39 PM Subject: Re: [PEIRCE-L] Seeing things Gary, List ~ "The chaotic background murmur and crackle of neurons firing, cells doing what they muddily must to stay alive, organizes itself into definite rhythmic patterns, and lo, forms emerge and begin to branch. Presence parts from itself and proliferates as the branches take names." I like how this quote points to the physical presence of objects and interpretants in the brain, and the habitual paths connecting relevant neurons. However, I would have liked it more if your quote had been less lyrical, and instead had described the physical mechanism by which a collection of neurons form an object-interpretant relationship in the brain. I certainly believe they do that. Steve Jobs likened creativity to "connecting the dots" in useful ways that other people haven't before. Those 'dots' are neurons (grey matter) and they rely on electrochemical energy to connect via the brain's white matter. As they make connections with more neurons over the passage of time, some neurons grow larger/dominant and subsequently receive and send out electrochemical signals more efficiently than the others. Thereafter, connections between those enlarged neurons form 'paths' in the physical brain (object+interpretant relationships), so those larger/connected neurons are more likely to contribute to logical deductions in the future. I believe that brain researchers have identified all of the physical mechanisms mentioned above. Identifying the larger/connected neurons as object-interpretant relationships is my perspective (i.e., abduction). Relationships between neurons are 'habits' nourished over time by a flow of electrochemical energy. In solving today's puzzle the energy may flow from neuron A to B, but in solving tomorrow's puzzle it may flow from B to A. The object and interpretant status of neurons is ever-changing, and varies with the Pragmatic objective. Regards, Tom Wyrick On Oct 23, 2015, at 8:01 AM, <g...@gnusystems.ca> <g...@gnusystems.ca> wrote: We see what we focus on: what we see distinguishes itself from the visual field: the dynamic object determines the sign to determine its interpretant. Cognition begins by making distinctions; recognition continues with emergence of relations from the phaneron, now that things have emerged from the phaneron. A road is made by people walking on it; things are so because they are called so. — Chuangtse 2 (Watson 1968, 40) The chaotic background murmur and crackle of neurons firing, cells doing what they muddily must to stay alive, organizes itself into definite rhythmic patterns, and lo, forms emerge and begin to branch. Presence parts from itself and proliferates as the branches take names. But a metaphor reverses the process by unmaking a familiar distinction, revealing a richer and stranger relationship. By thus renewing our vision, metaphors ‘literally create new objects’ (Jaynes 1976, 50) – immediate objects. Naming is creation, metaphor recreation. “A road” is a metaphor: a road is made by people walking on it; things are so because they are called so. Gary f. } Thought is not an out-of-body experience. [Mark Turner] { http://gnusystems.ca/wp/ }{ Turning Signs gateway ----------------------------- PEIRCE-L subscribers: Click on "Reply List" or "Reply All" to REPLY ON PEIRCE-L to this message. PEIRCE-L posts should go to peirce-L@list.iupui.edu . To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message not to PEIRCE-L but to l...@list.iupui.edu with the line "UNSubscribe PEIRCE-L" in the BODY of the message. More at http://www.cspeirce.com/peirce-l/peirce-l.htm . ----------------------------- PEIRCE-L subscribers: Click on "Reply List" or "Reply All" to REPLY ON PEIRCE-L to this message. PEIRCE-L posts should go to peirce-L@list.iupui.edu . To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message not to PEIRCE-L but to l...@list.iupui.edu with the line "UNSubscribe PEIRCE-L" in the BODY of the message. More at http://www.cspeirce.com/peirce-l/peirce-l.htm .
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