View source for C. I. Lewis

{{Infobox person
| name = C. I. Lewis
| born = 12 April 1883
| died = 3 February 1964
| nationality = American
| occupation = Philosopher
| known_for = Modal logic; epistemology; conceptual pragmatism
| notable_work = ''Mind and the World Order''; ''A Survey of Symbolic Logic''
}}


'''C. I. Lewis''' (12 April 1883 – 3 February 1964) was a philosopher whose work addressed logic, knowledge, and the structure of concepts. He examined how meaning and justification depend on conceptual frameworks rather than immediate experience alone.

His work sought to combine formal logic with pragmatic accounts of knowledge.

== Early life and education ==
Lewis was born in Stoneham, Massachusetts. He studied philosophy at Harvard University, where he later taught for much of his career.

His intellectual development included engagement with pragmatism and developments in symbolic logic.

== Modal logic ==
Lewis developed systems of modal logic to analyze necessity and possibility. He introduced formal distinctions between different kinds of implication and necessity.

These systems influenced later work in modal logic and semantics.

== Epistemology ==
Lewis argued that knowledge involves the application of conceptual schemes to experiential content. He rejected both naïve empiricism and purely formal accounts of justification.

His views were developed in ''Mind and the World Order'' (1929).

== Conceptual pragmatism ==
Lewis advanced a form of pragmatism according to which concepts are tools for organizing experience. He treated conceptual choice as guided by practical considerations rather than correspondence alone.

This position aimed to reconcile realism with pragmatic constraint.

== Relationship to institutions ==
Lewis spent most of his academic career at Harvard University, where he taught and supervised students. He published widely in logic and epistemology.

He influenced discussion through both teaching and writing.

== Limits and uncertainty ==
Lewis’s modal systems were later revised and extended by other logicians. Critics question whether his epistemology adequately accounts for scientific realism.

Interpretations of his pragmatism vary.

== Status ==
C. I. Lewis is regarded as a significant figure in early twentieth-century analytic philosophy and pragmatism. His work continues to be discussed in logic and epistemology.

== Related topics ==

[[Modal logic]]

[[Epistemology]]

[[Pragmatism]]

[[Conceptual frameworks]]

[[Category:Philosophers]]
[[Category:American philosophers]]
[[Category:Analytic philosophy]]
[[Category:20th-century philosophy]]