The Development of C.S. Peirce's Evolutionary Theory

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 In order to do so, he examines the earlier published and unpublished metaphysical writings and puts the later theory in the context of Peirce's evolving thought.