Abstract
According to Charles S. Peirce (1839–1914) the universe is perfused with signs. There is an objective sign-logic at work in the universe which constitutes a growth of concrete reasonableness. However, this process is not value neutral but the Summum Bonum. Man is now cabable of a high degree of self control and can cultivate his habits of feeling, action, and thought in accordance with the ideal. A theory of these efforts of cultivation fall within Peirce's three normative sciences — aesthetics, ethics, and logic. Even though Peirce never did formulate a fully coherent normative theory, there lies in his work an important sketch in understanding the ideal and how it should be followed, and in connection to this a model for rational behaviour including self-control.
© 2009 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin
