Recently I revisited the book “Classic Philosophical Questions” edited by James A. Gould. My attention was attracted by the philosophical ideas of Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914). Part of the detail is briefly summarized below:
Charles Sander Peirce is seen by many American as a profound philosopher. He suggests that every individual has a philosophy, i.e. a system of belief on philosophic issues such as ‘love’, ‘good life’, ‘death’, ‘value of money’, ‘duty to one’s country’ , ‘the role of the government’ etc. Usually people form their beliefs through their parents, peers, church or perhaps even from reading various philosophers. A mature philosophy consists of making reflection on the experience in search of the underlying meaning and principle that guide one’s life. The particular approach used to tackle a philosophical question often determines the answer. Peirce distinguishes four common methods. First is the Method of Tenacity, which is fixing one’s belief according to environment or personal relationship. The second is the Method of authority, which fixing one’s belief according the person who is in authority (e.g. what the authority has said must be right). Third is the a priori Method, or the Method of intuition (i.e. the belief is arrived at independent of experience). The fourth one is the Method of science. Peirce only favors the fourth method.
I am surprised to note that many people are using Method of authority to form their philosophy in general, and in politics in particular. May God bless these poor souls.
(Reference: James A. Gould ed. Classic Philosophical Questions.NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc. 1998)
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