Charles Peirce’s “Quasi Mind”: What Is It, How Do We Access It and What Does It Reveal?

Charles Peirce was a scientist, mathematician, Pragmatist philosopher, and leader of a group of Harvard scholars known as the Metaphysical Club, which included the psychologist William James.

His thought is dense and has been little understood in the 20th century, Bertrand Russell called him “one of the most original minds of the later nineteenth century and certainly the greatest American thinker ever”. His learning was vast, covering epistemology, semiotics, philosophy of science and logic. For those interested in Laws of Form, Charles Peirce had some influence on George Spencer-Brown’s discovery of that mysterious non-entity, the idea of the “first distinction”.

The talk is led by Dr. Gareth Abrahams who researches the relationship between philosophy and spatial theory. His approach draws together a detailed and intricate reading of philosophical texts whilst working as a practising architect.

He has published extensively in the field of philosophy and its relation to architecture, art, and planning. This includes a monograph with Routledge and articles in Deleuze and Guattari Studies. He is currently working on a forthcoming monograph of Charles Peirce with Edinburgh University Press focused Charles Peirce using detailed drawings and diagrams to illustrate some of his more obtuse ideas.

Entry is £5. The talk begins at 18:30, we kindly ask you to arrive on time so that we can start without further disturbance