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Abstract words such as ''truth'', ''honor'', by the way, are somewhat difficult to understand.  It seems to me that they are simply fictions.  Every word must denote some ''thing'';  these are names for certain fictitious things which are supposed for the purpose of indicating that the object of a concrete term is meant as it would be did it contain either no information or a certain amount of information.  Thus "charity is a virtue" means "What is charitable is virtuous — by the definition of charity and not by reason of what is known about it".  Hence, only analytical propositions are possible of abstract terms;  and on this account they are peculiarly useful in metaphysics where the question is what can we know without any information. (Peirce 1865, "Harvard Lecture 10.  Grounds of Induction", CE 1, 276–277).

<p>Abstract words such as ''truth'', ''honor'', by the way, are somewhat difficult to understand.  It seems to me that they are simply fictions.  Every word must denote some ''thing'';  these are names for certain fictitious things which are supposed for the purpose of indicating that the object of a concrete term is meant as it would be did it contain either no information or a certain amount of information.  Thus "charity is a virtue" means "What is charitable is virtuous &mdash; by the definition of charity and not by reason of what is known about it".  Hence, only analytical propositions are possible of abstract terms;  and on this account they are peculiarly useful in metaphysics where the question is what can we know without any information.</p>

 

<p>(Peirce 1865, Harvard Lecture 10 : Grounds of Induction, CE 1, 276&ndash;277).</p>

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