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Commens
Digital Companion to C. S. Peirce
‘Real’ (pub. 08.09.16-15:18). Quote in M. Bergman & S. Paavola (Eds.), The Commens Dictionary: Peirce's Terms in His Own Words. New Edition. Retrieved from http://www.commens.org/dictionary/entry/quote-chapter-iv-reality-0.
Term: 
Real
Quote: 

If an object is of whatever character I or any man or men will have it to be or imagine it, it is a fiction; but if its characters are independent of what you or I or any number of men think about it, it is a reality. The object of that final settled opinion to which it is supposed that an investigation will lead, if carried far enough, satisfies this definition of reality; for though the perversity of generations of men may postpone the agreement indefinitely, yet it cannot alter the character of the belief which alone can be permanently established.

Source: 
Peirce, C. S. (1872). Chapter IV. Of Reality. MS [R] 372; MS [W] 204.
References: 
W 3:58
Date of Quote: 
1872
URL: 

http://www.commens.org/dictionary/entry/quote-chapter-iv-reality-0