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American Pragmatism

Charles Sanders Peirce: The Architect of Pragmatism

Cornelis de Waal on the man and his ideas.

In 1851, when he was only twelve years old, Charles Sanders Peirce discovered in his brother’s bedroom a copy of Richard Whately’s Elements of Logic. He immediately stretched himself on the floor and began reading. The young Peirce quickly devoured the book and from then on logic would remain his passion. He was not a dry, bookish logician, however. Peirce trained as a scientist and his mind was that of a scientist at work.

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