Abstract
»One of the most wonderful features of reasoning» is its tendency »to correct itself, and the more so the more wisely its plan is laid». These words from the 1898 essay "Methods for Attaining the Truth" summarize Charles Peirce's vision of science as a »self-corrective process»1 — which still is one of the most pertinent attempts to characterize science and the scientific method. It helps us to clarify the sense in which features such as objectivity, critical attitude, autonomy, and progress belong to the nature of science.