§3. Monads, Dyads, and Triads ¹⁾

293. A thorough study of the logic of relatives confirms the conclusions which I had reached before going far in that study. It shows that logical terms are either monads, dyads, or polyads, and that these last do not introduce any radically different elements from those that are found in triads. I therefore divide all objects into monads, dyads, and triads; and the first step in the present inquiry is to ascertain what are the conceptions of the pure monad, free from all dyadic and triadic admixtures; of the dyad (which involves that of the monad) free from all triadic contamination, and what it is that is peculiar which the dyad adds to the monad; and of the triad (which involves those of the monad and dyad) and what it is that is characteristic of the triad.