| Popis: |
This chapter examines pragmatism and film noir, focussing on The Third Man, through the lens of the pragmatist philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce. It presents, through this classic noir thriller, a pathway into the difficult ideas of Peirce, whose thought is foundational to semiotics and critical in understanding scientific and educational thinking more broadly. To date, Peirce has not received the attention that he deserves (compared to, say, his much-cited fellow American pragmatist John Dewey). Film noir with its shadows, ambiguity, distortions and unexpected angles, and its constant and ultimately compromised search for truth, has remained a potent influence on filmmaking since the 1940s, and the archetypical film noir is Carol Reed’s The Third Man (1949). An elucidation of Peirce’s ideas through film noir can potentially provide insight not only into film theory but also philosophy, science and education. We draw on the visual power and narrative drive of The Third Man to illustrate Peirce’s subtle and powerful ideas. |
