Peirce, Pragmatism, and the Logic of Scripture

by Peter Ochs

This is the first study of Charles Peirce's philosophy as a form of writing and the first study of his pragmatic writings as a critique of the modern attempt to change society by writing philosophy. Ochs argues that, as corrected by the pragmatists, the task of modern philosophy is, through writing, to diagram the otherwise hidden rules through which modern sociey repairs itself. Peirce labelled this elemental writing "enscribing," or "scripture." Redescribing Peirce's pragmatism as "the logic of scripture," Peter Ochs suggests that Christians and Jews may in fact re-read pragmatism as a logic of Scripture: that is, as a modern philosopher's way of diagramming the Bible's rules for repairing broken lives and healing societal suffering.

372 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 1998

About the author

Peter W. Ochs is a theologian and philosophical scholar.