> An aside to everyone: has anyone read William James on habit?
Interesting post, alec. Do you recommend looking at anything in particular? How does it compare to Peirce? Peirce was initially interested in habit formation, but became increasingly concerned with habit *change*. What do we do if our habits become faulty? How do we reform our habits? Two interesting secondary sources here are:
Neville, Robert Cummings, 1992: The Highroad Around Modernism, Albany: SUNY Press.
Ochs, Peter, 1993: "Charles Sanders Peirce," in D. R. Griffin, et al.: Founders of Constructive Postmodern Philosophy, Albany: SUNY Press.
I have tried to draw on this work in exploring alternative approaches to economic planning other than optimal/rational planning.
Vygotsky's work on children's free play and socialization is also similar to Peirce's discussion here in stressing the importance of the imagination.
Mat (hundreds and hundreds of posts behind)