Peirce's Theory of Signs

Corrects widespread misconceptions of Peirce's theory and demonstrates its relevance to contemporary analytic philosophy.

T. L. Short (Author)

9780521108942, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 February 2009

396 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.58 kg

'Peirce's Theory of Signs offers a wealth of philosophical riches just waiting to be mined.' Journal of Philosophy

In this book, T. L. Short corrects widespread misconceptions of Peirce's theory of signs and demonstrates its relevance to contemporary analytic philosophy of language, mind and science. Peirce's theory of mind, naturalistic but nonreductive, bears on debates of Fodor and Millikan, among others. His theory of inquiry avoids foundationalism and subjectivism, while his account of reference anticipated views of Kripke and Putnam. Peirce's realism falls between 'internal' and 'metaphysical' realism and is more satisfactory than either. His pragmatism is not verificationism; rather, it identifies meaning with potential growth of knowledge. Short distinguishes Peirce's mature theory of signs from his better-known but paradoxical early theory. He develops the mature theory systematically on the basis of Peirce's phenomenological categories and concept of final causation. The latter is distinguished from recent and similar views, such as Brandon's, and is shown to be grounded in forms of explanation adopted in modern science.

1. Antecedents and alternatives
2. The development of Peirce's semeiotic
3. Phaneroscopy
4. A preface to final causation
5. Final causation
6. Significance
7. Objects and interpretants
8. A taxonomy of signs
9. More taxa
10. How symbols grow
11. Semeiosis and the mental
12. The structure of objectivity.

Subject Areas: Analytical philosophy & Logical Positivism [HPCF5], Philosophy [HP], Literary theory [DSA], Linguistics [CF]