iReview: Introduction: Signs of Meaning in the Disciplines

Hello dear Colleague and Fellow Researchers

Today, I would like to discuss a chapter entitled "Introduction: Signs of Meaning in the Disciplines" from the book Bloomsbury Semiotics: Volume 1, History and Semiosis. The chapter is written by Jamin Pelkey.

Jamin Pelkey

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S):

Jamin Pelkey is Professor the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, at Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada. He works in the areas of Semiotics, Cognitive Linguistics, and Linguistic Anthropology.

WHAT IS THIS CHAPTER ABOUT?

The chapter argues that semiotics, the study of signs and meaning, is crucial for understanding the loss of meaning in the modern world and fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue. It traces the history of semiotics, highlighting key figures like Peirce and Saussure, and outlines fundamental concepts of semiosis.

Discussion asserts that a semiotic approach to meaning is more comprehensive and domain-general than semantics and pragmatics. It focuses on sign relations and semiosis, encompassing a broader range of phenomena beyond linguistic communication, such as desire, purpose, bodily experience, aesthetics, and social issues.

In the discussion, the chapter defines sign as anything, concrete or abstract, that evokes something else – virtual or actual – towards some end or purpose (vivid or vague, immediate or distant). For example, the sound of cathedral bells is a sign. While semiosis is defined as a process by which sign meanings and relations are always becoming or evolving.  

Chapter also mentions Charles Morris’s ambitious project of “meta-science” premised on the development and application of semiotics as a crucial step towards the unification of science across different fields of inquiry.

In the discussion on pre-modern semiotics, the chapter highlights the inferential and representational understanding of signs by different scholars. Philosophers like Hippocrates and Aristotle saw signs as indicative phenomena in the natural world. While for Augustine and Bacon, signs encompass cultural and linguistic aspects. Even the difference between natural and cultural approaches to study signs are also highlighted.

KEY TERMS

Semantics:

The branch of linguistics that studies meaning.

Pragmatics:

The branch of linguistics dealing with language in use and the contexts in which it is used, including the study of contextual meaning.

Semiotics:

The systematic study of signs and meaning.

Biosemiotics:

The study of signs and meaning in living systems.

Cognitive semiotics:

An interdisciplinary field that investigates meaning-making by integrating cognitive science with semiotics.

Sign:

Anything concrete or abstract, that evokes something else, whether virtual or actual, towards some end or purpose.

Sign System:

A structured set of signs that are involved in relationships of memory, experience, and expectations.

Semiosis:

The process by which sign meanings and sign relations are always in progression, becoming, or evolving.

Meta-semiosis:

Human understanding in pursuit of understanding the nature of understanding.

Representamen:

In Peirce’s triadic model of sign, the form that the sign takes is representamen.

Object:

In Peirce’s triadic model of sign, an object is that to which the sign refers.

Interpretant:

In Peirce’s triadic model of sign, interpretant is the effect of the sign on the interpreter’s mind.

Icon:

A mode of sign that represents its object by virtue of resemblance. (e.g., a photograph)

Iconicity:

The perceived resemblance between a sign and its object.

Index:

A mode of sign that represents the object by virtues of a factual or existential connection (e.g., smoke indicating fire).

Symbol:

A mode of sign that represents its object by virtue of convention or habit. (e.g., a word).

Firstness:

In Peirce’s philosophy, firstness is the category of pure possibility, quality, and feeling.

Secondness:

In Peirce’s philosophy, secondness is the category of reaction, fact, and existence.

Thirdness:

In Peirce’s philosophy, thirdness if the category of mediation, generality, and law.

Structuralism:

An approach that emphasizes the underlying systems of relationships and contrasts that structure meaning in language and culture.

Poststructuralism:

A theoretical movement that critiques structuralism, emphasizing the instability of meaning, the role of power, and the deconstruction of fixed categories.

Ideology:

A system of ideas and beliefs that often serve to support particular social and political interests, potentially leading to distorted or deceptive thought.

 

That is all for today. Comment which ideas you would like to explore in more details.

 

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