The Commens Dictionary

Quote from ‘Issues of Pragmaticism’

Quote: 

Every utterance naturally leaves the right of further exposition in the utterer; and therefore, in so far as a sign is indeterminate, it is vague, unless it is expressly or by a well-understood convention rendered general. [—]

Perhaps a more scientific pair of definitions would be that anything is general in so far as the principle of excluded middle does not apply to it and is vague in so far as the principle of contradiction does not apply to it.

Date: 
1905
References: 
EP 2:351; CP 5.447-448
Citation: 
‘Vague’ (pub. 20.08.17-11:50). 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-issues-pragmaticism-22.
Posted: 
Aug 20, 2017, 11:50 by Mats Bergman
Last revised: 
Aug 20, 2017, 11:54 by Mats Bergman