The Doctrine of Chances

The Doctrine of Chances

community, continuity, probability, statistics, synechism

Originally published in the Popular Science Monthly, vol. 12 (March 1878): 604-615. This is the third installment in Peirce's "Illustrations of the Logic of Science" series. It was originally intended by Peirce to be published as one paper along with the fourth installment in the series, "The Probability of Induction".

According to Houser and Kloesel (Eds.), The Essential Peirce, vol. 1 (Bloomington: Indiana, 1992), p. 142, this paper is "an early discussion of what will later become [Peirce's doctrine] of synechism", i.e., continuity. Here "Peirce argues that the assumption of continuity provides a powerful engine for logic, and he develops his theory of probabilities as the science of logic quantitatively treated....To be logical, Peirce says, men must not be selfish, for logic requires the identification of one's interests with those of an unlimited community."

Peirce, Charles Sanders (1839-1914)

Popular Science Monthly, vol. 12 (March 1878): 604-615

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1878-03

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