This study is concerned with a central conception in the philosophy of Charles Pierce, the conception of a sign. It is suggested that a sign is best understood as a term of triadic relation of representation, and the emphasis in study falls upon the explication of that relation in its generic character, as Peirce understood it. The study is primarily interpretive rather than evaluative, and two complementary approaches are utilized conjointly throughout. First, some significant connections between Peirce's conception and a number of more familiar and traditional philosophical conceptions are suggested. For this purpose, the leading assumption is that the concept of a sign is a generalization of the traditional concept of appearance (provided this latter term is understood primarily in the sense of a manifestation of reality rather than in the sense of an illusion or deception). Second, the conception of representation is approached in a structural or formal way, with the intent of showing the relation between this generic conception and the formal categorial analysis which Peirce initiated in 1867. For this purpose, the leading assumption is that the representation relation is thought of by Peirce as being identical with the fundamental inference relation, and that the categorial analysis is in turn an analysis of this latter relation.
The study is divided into eight chapters. The first five chapters are directed primarily toward explicating the formal or structural features of the generic relation. The last three chapters consider, respectively, iconic, symbolic, and indexical representations, and are primarily concerned with traditional philosophical issues. Chapter I is introductory. Chapter II is concerned with establishing an initial orientation towards Peirce's logical point of view, for which purpose the distinction between "first intentions" and "second intentions" is utilized. Chapter III is concerned with the sense in which the logical or semiotical point of view is concerned with the reasoning process. Chapter IV is an analysis of the major line of argument in Peirce's 1867 essay on the categories. Chapter V is a continuation of the analysis of Chapter IV, and it concludes with an attempt to clarify the meaning of some of Peirce's definitions of "sign" in the light of foregoing considerations. In Chapter VI the iconic sign is discussed in connection with Peirce's problem of reconciling the doctrines of representative perception and immediate perception. In Chapter VII the symbolic sign is discussed in connection with the traditional probem of accounting for the generality of ideas or words. In Chapter VIII the indexical sign is discussed in connection with the import of the Kantian dictum that "existence is not a real predicate."
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
NOTES ON CITATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
PART I. THE REPRESENTATION RELATION
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. THE LOGICAL POINT OF VIEW . . . . . . . . . . 7
III. LOGIC AND REASONING . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
IV. THE GENERIC RELATION:
(1) THE CATEGORIES . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
V. THE GENERIC RELATION:
(2) THE ROLE OF THE INTERPRETANT . . . . . 104
A. Ampliative Inference . . . . . . . 104
B. The Interpretant and the "I
THINK" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
C. THE DEFINITION OF A SIGN . . . . . 127
PART II. THREE KINDS OF REPRESENTATION
Chapter
VI. THE ICONIC SIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
VII. THE SYMBOLIC SIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
VIII. THE INDEXICAL SIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
APPENDIX: THE SEMIOTIC TRIVIUM . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221