Sabre's Scientific Assistance Project arose in 1986 from the Foundation's long-standing program of philosophical conferences and publications. As Sabre's book donations spread throughout Eastern Europe, the enthusiastic response to them reemphasizes the centrality of ideas.
Sabre's activity in this area in 1994 centered on the continuing work of Josiah Lee Auspitz in exploring the conceptual grounds of modern institutions. Auspitz was awarded an Earhart Foundation Fellowship for 1995 to supplement Sabre's support in bringing into publishable form the portion of his work that addresses the underlying logic of the knowledge-based professions.
An essay by Auspitz ("The Wasp Leaves the Bottle") appeared in The American Scholar, Fall 1994, reviewing the growing literature by and about Charles S. Peirce (1839-1914), widely considered the classic American philosopher. Peirce's work, much of which has remained unpublished, is now being issued in a 30-volume chronological edition by Indiana University Press. It is the subject of an increasingly respectful critical literature, and inspires current theoretical work in a range of fields from law to quantum physics to semiotics and graphical representations of logic.