Open AccessPeirce's Wagers: Pragmaticism, Semiotics, and Theisms
Author(s) -
Hans Bakker
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
nordicum-mediterraneum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1670-6242
DOI - 10.33112/nm.4.1.4
Subject(s) - semiotics , epistemology , pascal (unit) , pragmatism , everyday life , philosophy , perspective (graphical) , computer science , artificial intelligence , programming language
This essay transforms Pascal's Wager into Peirce's Wagers. Pascal did not consider the question from a Semiotic perspective. Belief in a meaningful universe may be a matter of more than a one time decision by an isolated individual. When we act in the world we make "wagers." We "bet" that life is meaningful and that in some sense "God" does exist. C. S. Peirce's approach to epistemology can be read to imply a "scientific" approach to everyday life questions. Essentially, Peirce takes the scientific method as a standard for all activities. We make decisions on the basis of what we think we know. We "experiment." An understanding of the function of religious institutions helps to consolidate this Peircean Pragmatist notion.