Charles W. Morris
Encyclopedia
Charles W. Morris was an American semiotician
and philosopher
.
. Morris completed his dissertation on a symbolic theory of mind and received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1925. In the same year he married Gertrude E. Thompson, with whom he had a daughter, Sally Morris Petrilli. In 1951 he married his second wife, Ellen Ruth Allen (a psychologist). After his graduation, Morris turned to teaching, first at Rice University, and later at the University of Chicago. In 1958 he became Research Professor at the University of Florida. His students included semiotician Thomas A. Sebeok. In 1937 Morris presided over the Western Division of the American Philosophical Association, and was Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Charles William Morris died on January 15, 1979 in Gainesville, Florida.
During his time at Rice University, Morris wrote and defended his philosophical perspective known as neo-pragmatism. He also worked on and published Six Theories of Mind. At the end of his term at Rice, Morris returned to the University of Chicago. In the early 1930s, the University of Chicago's philosophy department was unstable, but in the midst of change and difficult economic times, Morris felt that philosophy would serve as a torch that would light the way to saving world civilization.Morris had hoped to create an institute of philosophy at the University of Chicago, but his efforts to convince the university president of such a venture were unsuccessful.
While on sabbatical from the University of Chicago in 1934, Morris traveled abroad, visiting Europe and meeting working philosophers such as Bertrand Russell
and members of the Vienna Circle
like Rudolf Carnap
, Otto Neurath
, and Moritz Schlick
. Morris was greatly impressed with the logical positivist (logical empiricist) movement. While presenting a paper in Prague at the Eighth International Congress of Philosophy, he discussed his hopes for a union of pragmatism and positivism. Sympathetic to the positivist's philosophical project, Morris became the number one American advocate for the "Unity of Science Movement" led by Otto Neurath. During the 1930s, Morris helped several German and Austrian philosophers emigrate to the United States, including Rudolf Carnap in 1936. As a part of the "Unity of Science Movement," Morris worked closely with Neurath and Carnap to produce the International Encyclopedia of Unified Science. As co-editor of the Encyclopedia, Morris procured publication in America from the University of Chicago Press. His involvement with the Encyclopedia spanned for ten years when the project lost momentum in 1943. Both Morris and Carnap found it difficult to keep the Encyclopedia alive due to insufficient funds. In the latter part of the 1940s, Morris was finally able to secure funding that allowed the project to last until its final publication in the 1970s.
) is partly due to his desire to unify logical positivism
with behavioral empiricism and pragmatism
. Morris's union of these three philosophical perspectives eventuated in his claim that symbols have three types of relations:
He later called these relations "semantics", "pragmatics", and "syntactics". Viewing semiotics as a way to bridge philosophical outlooks, Morris grounded his sign theory in Mead's social behaviorism. In fact, Morris's interpretation of an interpretant, a term used in the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce, has been understood to be strictly psychological. Morris's system of signs emphasizes the role of stimulus and response in the orientation, manipulation, and consummation phases of action. His mature semiotic theory is traced out in Signs, Language, and Behavior. Morris's semiotic is concerned with explaining the tri-relation between syntactics, semantics, and pragmatics in a dyadic way, which is very different from the semiotics of C.S. Peirce. This caused some to argue that Morris misinterpreted Peirce by converting the interpretant into a logically existent thing.
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
and philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
Background
A son of Charles William and Laura (Campbell) Morris, Charles William Morris was born on May 23, 1901. Having briefly attended the University of Wisconsin, Morris studied engineering and psychology at Northwestern University, where he graduated with a B.S. in 1922. Later that same year, he entered the University of Chicago where he became a doctoral student in philosophy under the direction of George Herbert MeadGeorge Herbert Mead
George Herbert Mead was an American philosopher, sociologist and psychologist, primarily affiliated with the University of Chicago, where he was one of several distinguished pragmatists. He is regarded as one of the founders of social psychology and the American sociological tradition in general.-...
. Morris completed his dissertation on a symbolic theory of mind and received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1925. In the same year he married Gertrude E. Thompson, with whom he had a daughter, Sally Morris Petrilli. In 1951 he married his second wife, Ellen Ruth Allen (a psychologist). After his graduation, Morris turned to teaching, first at Rice University, and later at the University of Chicago. In 1958 he became Research Professor at the University of Florida. His students included semiotician Thomas A. Sebeok. In 1937 Morris presided over the Western Division of the American Philosophical Association, and was Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Charles William Morris died on January 15, 1979 in Gainesville, Florida.
Teaching and the Unity of Science Movement
Morris was an instructor of philosophy for six years between 1925-1931 at Rice University in Houston, Texas. After leaving Rice, he was associate professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago from 1931-1947. Morris became a lecturing professor at Chicago in 1948, occupying the position until 1958 when he received an offer for a special appointment as a Research Professor at the University of Florida, where he remained until his death.During his time at Rice University, Morris wrote and defended his philosophical perspective known as neo-pragmatism. He also worked on and published Six Theories of Mind. At the end of his term at Rice, Morris returned to the University of Chicago. In the early 1930s, the University of Chicago's philosophy department was unstable, but in the midst of change and difficult economic times, Morris felt that philosophy would serve as a torch that would light the way to saving world civilization.Morris had hoped to create an institute of philosophy at the University of Chicago, but his efforts to convince the university president of such a venture were unsuccessful.
While on sabbatical from the University of Chicago in 1934, Morris traveled abroad, visiting Europe and meeting working philosophers such as Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
and members of the Vienna Circle
Vienna Circle
The Vienna Circle was an association of philosophers gathered around the University of Vienna in 1922, chaired by Moritz Schlick, also known as the Ernst Mach Society in honour of Ernst Mach...
like Rudolf Carnap
Rudolf Carnap
Rudolf Carnap was an influential German-born philosopher who was active in Europe before 1935 and in the United States thereafter. He was a major member of the Vienna Circle and an advocate of logical positivism....
, Otto Neurath
Otto Neurath
Otto Neurath was an Austrian philosopher of science, sociologist, and political economist...
, and Moritz Schlick
Moritz Schlick
Friedrich Albert Moritz Schlick was a German philosopher, physicist and the founding father of logical positivism and the Vienna Circle.-Early life and works:...
. Morris was greatly impressed with the logical positivist (logical empiricist) movement. While presenting a paper in Prague at the Eighth International Congress of Philosophy, he discussed his hopes for a union of pragmatism and positivism. Sympathetic to the positivist's philosophical project, Morris became the number one American advocate for the "Unity of Science Movement" led by Otto Neurath. During the 1930s, Morris helped several German and Austrian philosophers emigrate to the United States, including Rudolf Carnap in 1936. As a part of the "Unity of Science Movement," Morris worked closely with Neurath and Carnap to produce the International Encyclopedia of Unified Science. As co-editor of the Encyclopedia, Morris procured publication in America from the University of Chicago Press. His involvement with the Encyclopedia spanned for ten years when the project lost momentum in 1943. Both Morris and Carnap found it difficult to keep the Encyclopedia alive due to insufficient funds. In the latter part of the 1940s, Morris was finally able to secure funding that allowed the project to last until its final publication in the 1970s.
Morris and semiotics
Morris's development of a behavioral theory of signs (semioticsSemiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
) is partly due to his desire to unify logical positivism
Logical positivism
Logical positivism is a philosophy that combines empiricism—the idea that observational evidence is indispensable for knowledge—with a version of rationalism incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions of epistemology.It may be considered as a type of analytic...
with behavioral empiricism and pragmatism
Pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...
. Morris's union of these three philosophical perspectives eventuated in his claim that symbols have three types of relations:
- to objects,
- to persons , and
- to other symbols.
He later called these relations "semantics", "pragmatics", and "syntactics". Viewing semiotics as a way to bridge philosophical outlooks, Morris grounded his sign theory in Mead's social behaviorism. In fact, Morris's interpretation of an interpretant, a term used in the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce, has been understood to be strictly psychological. Morris's system of signs emphasizes the role of stimulus and response in the orientation, manipulation, and consummation phases of action. His mature semiotic theory is traced out in Signs, Language, and Behavior. Morris's semiotic is concerned with explaining the tri-relation between syntactics, semantics, and pragmatics in a dyadic way, which is very different from the semiotics of C.S. Peirce. This caused some to argue that Morris misinterpreted Peirce by converting the interpretant into a logically existent thing.