The Cunning of Geist

043 - Evolution is Everything: Charles S. Peirce and Hegel

December 13, 2021 Gregory Novak
The Cunning of Geist
043 - Evolution is Everything: Charles S. Peirce and Hegel
Show Notes

Hedge fund head Ray Dalio, in his book "Principles" states, "To be 'good,' something must operate consistently with the laws of reality and contribute to the evolution of the whole; that is what is most rewarded. Evolution is the single greatest force in the universe; it is the only thing that is permanent and it drives everything." Dalio is not a trained philosopher but has plenty of street smarts.  And street smarts should never be discounted.  

American pragmatic philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce put evolution at the core of his philosphy. Regarding Peirce and Hegel, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states, "These thinkers, of course, all have a single theme in common: evolution.  . . both Hegel and Peirce make the whole evolutionary interpretation of the evolving phaneron (world of appearances) to be a process that is said to be logical, the 'action' of logic itself.” 

Peirce had access to Darwinian evolution which Hegel did not. And importantly, Peirce incorporates Darwinism in his theory of evolution and yet goes beyond. Hence his philosophy is an update of sorts of Hegelianism, particularly regarding Nature. This episode explores.  


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