Jeff, JBD> when the cars make contact, does the triadic relation exist? In saying that the triadic relation is degenerate, do you take that to imply it is reducible in all cases? The essential aspect of Thirdness is a mediating intention (goal or purpose) by some mind or quasi-mind. Peirce's most characteristic example is 'giving', which requires an intention by the giver A to transfer ownership of some gift B to some recipient C. If A happens to put B on a table and C takes it. The transfer is completed, but there is no evidence of a mediating intention. You could represent that transfer by a triadic relation. But that triad is degenerate because it is equivalent to a conjunction of dyads. If you apply that principle to the collision of three cars, we must ask whether there was any mind or quasi-mind that had some intention, plan, or goal to cause that collision. If so, any adequate representation of the situation must contain at least one triadic relation. If not, it could be represented by a conjunction of dyads. John
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