Abstract

Traditionally considered opposing views, realism and idealism were both endorsed by Charles Peirce, founder of pragmatism. Robert Lane proposes to defend the underlying consistency of Peirce's views on these two issues by tracing their evolution and the coextensive effect on the rest of his innovative philosophy. This is no easy task, as anyone who has attempted to study Peirce's vast oeuvre can confirm. Among the many challenges to this undertaking is the fact that much of Peirce's thought, which covers the whole gamut of philosophical topics, is contained in unpublished manuscripts. Lane includes the latter, along with Peirce's better-known writings, in this clearly-argued, thoroughly-researched, and most...