To refresh my memory, I  reread Peirce's Lowell Lectures about Gamma graphs.  
And the following passage from Lecture V (NEM 3, p. 365) explains what he meant 
in L376 when he said that he would keep the Gamma division:

"I must begin by a few words concerning gamma graphs; because it is by means of 
gamma graphs that I have been enabled to understand these subjects... In 
particular, it is absolutely necessary to representing the reasoning about 
these subjects that we should be able to reason with graphs about graphs and 
thus that we should have graphs of graphs."

That explains the issues we have been debating recently.  Peirce had recognized 
the importance of graphs of graphs when he  wrote "The better exposition of 
1903 divided the system into three parts, distinguished as the Alpha, the Beta, 
and the Gamma, parts; a DIVISION I shall here adhere to, although I shall now 
have to add a Delta part in order to deal with modals",

That division would require some version of metalanguage for specifying 
modality and higher-order logic.  But it does NOT imply all (or any) details 
that he happened to specify in 1903.  Since he had earlier specified a version 
of metalanguage in 1898 (RLT), he had previously recognized the importance of 
metalanguage.  The examples in the Lowell lectures are similar to his 1898 
version.  Since he never again used the details he specified in 1903 in any 
further MSS, it's unlikely that he would revive them in 1911.

The only feature he was reviving was the use of metalanguage.  The 1898 version 
was just as good as anything he specified in 1903.  Since it was simpler than 
the Gamma graphs, that would make it better.  In fact, Peirce mentioned another 
version of metalanguage in R514 (June 1911) that was logically equivalent and 
syntactically similar to what he was writing in L376 (December 1911).

The novel features of L376 are sufficiently advanced to qualify as a fourth 
branch of EGs.  But they require a bit more explanation.  As I said before, 
they depend critically on the expertise of Allan Risteen.  For that 
information, see the references to Risteen that are listed in the index to EP2. 
 And the applications discussed in L376 have strong resemblances to the 
applications of the very similar IKL logic in 2006.  For those, see the brief 
discussion and detailed references in https://jfsowa.com/ikl .

I'll write more about these topics in another note later this week.

John

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ARISBE: THE PEIRCE GATEWAY is now at 
https://cspeirce.com  and, just as well, at 
https://www.cspeirce.com .  It'll take a while to repair / update all the links!
► 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 UNSUBSCRIBE PEIRCE-L in the SUBJECT LINE of the message and nothing in the 
body.  More at https://list.iupui.edu/sympa/help/user-signoff.html .
► PEIRCE-L is owned by THE PEIRCE GROUP;  moderated by Gary Richmond;  and 
co-managed by him and Ben Udell.

Reply via email to