Peirce's Account of Purposefulness

This book presents a systematic interpretation of Charles S. Peirces work based on a Kantian understanding of his teleological account of thought and inquiry. Departing from readings that contrast Peirces treatment of purpose, end, and teleology with his early studies of Kant, Gabriele Gava instead argues that focusing on Peirces purposefulness as a necessary regulative (in the Kantian sense) condition for inquiry and semiotic processes allows for a transcendental interpretation of Peirces philosophical project. The author advances this interpretation through presenting original views on aspects of Peirces thought, including: a detailed analysis of Peirces methodeutic and speculative rhetoric, as well as his critical common-sensism; a comparison between Peirces and James pragmatisms in view of the account of purposefulness Gava puts forth; and an examination of the logical relationships that order Peirces architectonic classification of the sciences.