Helmut, List: HR: on one hand, Peirce´s evolutieon theory, synechism, tychism, concept of universal quasi-mind, is pantheistic ...
There is nothing intrinsically pantheistic about any of these aspects of Peirce's thought. On the contrary, he *explicitly *states that "the synechistic philosophy"--which "carries along with it the following doctrines: first, a logical realism of the most pronounced type; second, objective idealism; third, tychism, with its consequent thorough-going evolutionism"--"is forced to accept the doctrine of a personal God" (CP 6.162-163, 1892), which pantheism rejects. HR: Anyway, maybe Peirce was both, a pantheist, and a theist. By definition, it is impossible to be both a pantheist and a theist. A pantheist denies that there is a personal God, while a theist affirms this. A pantheist affirms that the universe itself is God, while a theist denies this. In other words, pantheism and theism are mutually exclusive belief systems. HR: Are all these questions, what Peirce believed or not, really so relevant? It is important to acknowledge what Peirce believed in order to interpret accurately what he wrote. This does not require agreement with his views, just recognition of what those views were. HR: I hope, you all would agree, that anyone may be an atheist, a pantheist, a panentheist, a deist, or a theist, and in any case be in accord with Peirce. Anyone may be an atheist, a pantheist, a panentheist, a deist, or a theist, and in any case be able to draw valuable insights from Peirce's thought, as well as apply his ideas to today's challenges. My point is that a sincere inquirer who is genuinely seeking the truth, regardless of his/her own beliefs, will acknowledge that Peirce himself was a theist in accordance with his own explicit testimony--which entails that he saw no incompatibility whatsoever between his philosophy as a whole and his professed belief that God is the real, personal, and transcendent (non-immanent) creator of the universe. Regards, Jon Alan Schmidt - Olathe, Kansas, USA Structural Engineer, Synechist Philosopher, Lutheran Christian www.LinkedIn.com/in/JonAlanSchmidt - twitter.com/JonAlanSchmidt On Thu, Sep 16, 2021 at 9:03 AM Helmut Raulien <[email protected]> wrote: > List, > > on one hand, Peirce´s evolutieon theory, synechism, tychism, concept of > universal quasi-mind, is pantheistic, on the other hand, Jon A. S. has > provided many citations, that show, that Peirce was a theist. I don´t see > this as a contradiction: There might be two supreme instances: The > universal quasi-mind internal to the universe, resp. itself, the universe, > *and* a God external to it. So there are two of them, like Brahman and > Vishnu (I forgot who is who). I hope, both are benign. The gnosticists also > have two: The supreme benign God, and a not so benign subcontractor, the > "demiurg". This consideration of the creator of the earth as malevolent may > have been due to the fact, that the times of the gnosticists were quite > hard times. Anyway, maybe Peirce was both, a pantheist, and a theist. Now > the questions remain, did he consider the universal quasi-mind for person, > so not only in a pantheistic way? Did he consider the universe-external > Supergod for person? But: Are all these questions, what Peirce believed or > not, really so relevant? After all, he was not a theologist. I propose to > happily leave these questions to the theologists, it is their dire job. I > hope , you all would agree, that anyone may be an atheist, a pantheist, a > panentheist, a deist, or a theist, and in any case be in accord with Peirce. > > Best, Helmut >
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