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This book introduces a number of selected ideas from the work of Charles Sanders Peirce, the founder of pragmatism. Peirce, pronounced ´purse´, was born in America in 1839 and died in 1914. He published little in his own lifetime and he continually struggled to become recognised as a respected author with ideas that were highly creative, original and unique. The book begins with an examination of Peirce´s life history. This is followed by an explanation of pragmatism, which states that an understanding of a concept can only be fully grasped by knowing what its practical effects are. The author then explains a number of Peirce´s ideas that are based on his pragmatic maxim:
ú scientific inquiry as a method of investigation and its relevance to everyday thinking

ú inferential thinking based on abduction, deduction and induction and its use in educational research

ú semiotics, the study of signs and its relevance to the development of conceptual understanding

ú his profound and insightful ontological categories of Firstness, Secondness and Thirdness and their application to developing an understanding of the world around us

This introductory text is written in a clear and accessible style. Numerous examples are used throughout the book to illustrate Peirce´s complex and sophisticated ideas
and to show how his thinking can be applied to education.

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Acknowledgements.- About the author.- A note on referencing Peirce´s writings.- 1 The Story of Charles Sanders Peirce.- 2 Introducing Pragmatism.- 3 Inquiry and Inferential Thinking.- 4 Inferential Logic and Inquiry.- 5 Semiotics: The Theory of Signs.- 6 Semiotics Continued.- 7 The Categories.- 8 Final Words.- References.- Index.

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