Abstract:
In the years 1891-1893, Charles Sanders Peirce published a series of articles in
The Monist, known as the Monist series, where he tried to offer an evolutionary
metaphysics. Combining logic, thermodynamics, evolutionary biology, cosmology
and theology, Peirce tried to account for natural laws as evolving ‘habits’ of
nature, by means of a complex theory of evolution. Such a highly speculative
metaphysical program has often been labeled as the black sheep of Peirce’s work.
In his master's thesis, Michele D'Asaro tries to reconstruct the development of the
evolutionary theory found in the Monist series. In order to do so, he examines the
earlier published and unpublished metaphysical writings and puts the later theory
in the context of Peirce's evolving thought.
