COGNITIO-ESTUDOS

Revista Eletrônica de Filosofia
Philosophy Eletronic Journal
ISSN 1809-8428

São Paulo: Center for Pragmatism Studies
Philosophy Graduate Program
Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo
Available in http://www.pucsp.br/pragmatismo

Vol. 8, nº. 2, July-December, 2011

Pag.II

EDITORIAL

In the year that the PUC-SP Center for Pragmatism Studies (CPS) already started organizing the 14th International Meeting on Pragmatism (IMP), which will take place between 5 and 8 November 2012, gathering invited senior lecturers and members of the International Organization Committee (IOC) with the significant mission of organizing the Charles Sanders Peirce International Centennial Congress, to be held in 2014 at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, in Lowell, MA, in the United States, evidencing the vital importance that the São Paulo CPS gained through its continuous and meaningful work among major centers dedicated to Pragmatism, it is with great pride that we present this issue 8, number 2 of Cognitio-Estudos: Revista Eletrônica de Filosofia.

As it could not be otherwise, this electronic issue of the PUC-SP/CPS is characterized by the diversity of themes and the quality of the papers published, evidencing the concern of its creators to maintain an intense and enriched dialogue with the various fields of scientific and philosophical research on points that, explicitly or implicitly, affect Pragmatism. Thus, this issue offers eight articles on themes covering Classical and Contemporary Pragmatism, as well as Hermeneutics, Semiotics, Economics, Law and Politics.

Haroldo de Arruda Junior in his article "Análise Pragmática da Teoria do Mercado Livre sob o ponto de vista da Ética em Milton Friedman", regales us with a brilliant analysis of Milton Friedman's Free Market Theory, in light of Charles Sanders Peirce's pragmatism. The main features of this theory are identified and clarified by the author in rich detail, leading us to an extremely contemporary reflection on how "the practice of entrepreneurial ethics acts directly on the formation of values and, further, how this set of new values shapes a social system." From the reflection generated in the article, the author, pragmatically, calls on us to participate actively within the community, pointing, in a Peircean formula, to the way in which we are prepared to act in future, in the face of the question "whether this is a set of values that we wish for all of us."

Agemir Bavaresco, in his article "Pragmatismo Semântico: modelo, estratégias e história do projeto filosófico de Robert Brandom", presents Brandom's normative semantic model, reflecting on the strategy developed by the philosopher in the construction of his inferencialist model. This presentation, notable for the details, is complemented by an introduction to Brandom's reconstruction method in his most recent work "Perspectives on Pragmatism: Classical, Recent, and Contemporary", dedicated to the history of American pragmatism.

The article "A despolitização moderna à luz do pensamento de Hannah Arendt", by Cacilda Silva Bonfim, brings into focus a theoretical-conceptual approach to the phenomenon of depoliticization from Hannah Arendt's critique of modernity. The point of contact with pragmatism remains implicit in the approach to the implications that the metaphysical deconstruction project suggests from the analysis of the fundamental activities of the human condition.

Hélio Rebello Cardoso Jr and Thien Spinelli Ferraz, in the article "Philosophical problem of relations according to Peirce: Alliances towards an ontology of relations regarding two aspects of synechism", provide an instigating reflection on how Peirce's philosophy may be thought of as an alternative to the philosophy of being. They argue that Peirce had constructed an ontology grounded on semiotics, where the ways of being of reality are defined in terms of relations (monadic, dyadic and triadic), to the detriment of discourses on the reality of being (Aristotle) or a scientific metaphysics ruled by transcendental conditions (Kant), thus moving away from both traditions. They maintain that this Peircean contribution regarding ontology may be observed under two aspects of his Synechism, namely, "the primacy of relations over individuals in continuous multiplicities and the way of being of relations according to triadic relations under the category of Thirdness."

In the article "A regra-matriz de incidência das normas jurídicas como diagrama Semiótico", Rodrigo Medeiros Guardia shows how the logical structure to which legal norms may be reduced finds shelter in the lessons of Charles Sanders Peirce on semiotic diagrams. The logical form of legal norms, devoid of all semantic content, is defined as 'basic-rule' or 'standard norm of incidence'. This logical form is then analyzed in accordance with Peircean semiotics, particularly through the iconic notion of diagrams, tracing "a parallel between the heuristic properties of the diagram and the basic rule, thus highlighting the importance of both in the process of reasoning and discovery."

Isabel Jungk in "A relevância da estrutura sígnica das palavras para o pensamento", gifts us with a singular approach to Peirce's contribution to signical processes. The starting point is the analysis of the three phenomenological categories as the source of the various classes of signs within Peirce's philosophy. After analyzing the bases of Peircean philosophical semiotics, the author shows how words must be considered as fundamental linguistic types used by thought, and whose detailed analysis enables the revelation of nuances of meaning of the linguistic signs that can clarify thought, taking the pragmatic maxim as its horizon.

In its Jamesian aspect, Pragmatism is very well represented in this issue in the article "O rigor na noção de Verdade do Pragmatismo de William James", by Marcelo da Silva Alves Pires. The author explores some critiques of James' pragmatism, which became common among contemporary commentators of James, such as the promotion of a "concept of truth which entail[ed]s an aversion to any kind of rigor, associating the justification of beliefs, even scientific ones, to relativism and subjectivism of the lowest level, where everything is allowed, provided that it brings to whoever proposes a belief some type of satisfaction, or provided that we can make some use of such a belief," rebutting specific aspects common to these critiques. The article closely analyses James' "Sixth Conference on Pragmatism," exploring the main points of his conception of 'Truth' in Pragmatism, characterized by implying "a rigorous epistemology, committed to the objective control and responsible development of the sciences."

Completing the sequence of articles in this issue, Mario Ariel Gonzáles Porta, in "Filosofia e História da filosofia" gives us an interesting reflection about the notions of text and context, as well as their interrelationship from the idea that it is false the opposition between philosophy and history of philosophy. Under this horizon, text and context must not be thought of as an aggregate, but as a structure, an indissoluble unity of hermeneutic. Thus, since historicity and hermeneutics are reciprocally demanded, one comes to the provocative conclusion that philosophy is essentially historical and history of philosophy is essentially philosophical.

Finally, this issue also includes an unpublished translation of "Immortality in the Light of Synechism", by Charles Sanders Peirce. This text, albeit short, asserts itself with exemplary forcefulness within Peircean writings. It is an unfinished text, submitted by Peirce on May 4, 1893, to "The Open Court" and, shortly after, favorably considered for "The Monist". However, the text was not published due to a disagreement between Peirce and the publisher Paul Carus. In this text, Peirce applies his doctrine of "synechism" to the question of immortality, assuming that it would be imprudent to say that we only have a carnal, discontinuous, life. The sense in which continuity of life after death may be thought in light of his scientific metaphysics is suggested, as is also a possible reconciliation between science and religion mediated by "synechism".

We, therefore, invite our Brazilian and foreign readers to explore this issue of Cognitio-Estudos and take part in the diverse and rich philosophical and scientific dialogue offered. We wish a pleasant reading to everyone!

Rodrigo Vieira de Almeida
Assistant Editor/Cognitio-Estudos
Center fo Pragmatism Studies, PUC-SP, Brazil