Peirce as a Truthmaker Realist

Propositional realism as backbone of Peircean metaphysics

Abstract

This note argues that there is a narrow connection between the different aspects of Peirce’s philosophical realism and his doctrine of propositions, forming an early version of “truthmaker” realism. Distinguishing predicate realism, subject realism and representation realism, it is argued that these realisms connect to each their aspect of true propositions. Finally, the argument is made that Peirce’s metaphysics, over his career, grows by means of still new metaphysical deductions from results reached in semiotics and logic, so that propositional realism, simultaneously, develops from defining the real as that which makes true propositions true to all that which is involved in making true propositions true.