Peirces Twenty-Eight Classes of Signs and the Philosophy of Representation: Rhetoric, Interpretation and Hexadic Semiosis

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This book is open access and available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Knowledge Unlatched. The major principles and systems of C. S. Peirce's ground-breaking theory of signs and signification are now generally well known. Less well known, however, is the fact that Peirce initially conceived these systems within a 'Philosophy of Representation', his latter-day version of the traditional grammar, logic and rhetoric trivium. In this book, Tony Jappy traces the evolution of Peirce's Philosophy of Representation project and examines the sign systems which came to supersede it. Surveying the stages in Peirces break with this Philosophy of Representation from its beginnings in the mid-1860s to his final statements on signs between 1908 and 1911, this book draws out the essential theoretical differences between the earlier and later sign systems. Although the 1903 ten-class system has been extensively researched by scholars, this book is the first to exploit the untapped potential of the later six-element systems. Showing how these systems differ from the 1903 version, Peirces Twenty-Eight Classes of Signs and the Philosophy of Representation offers an innovative and valuable reinterpretation of Peirce's thinking on signs and representation. Exploring the potential of the later sign-systems that Peirce scholars have hitherto been reluctant to engage with and extending Peirces semiotic theory beyond the much canvassed systems of his Philosophy of Representation, this book will be essential reading for everyone working in the field of semiotics.

Reviews

With authoritative scholarship Tony Jappy opens the way for a richer understanding of how the philosophy of representation of Charles S. Peirce evolved into his later semiotic systems. A whole life of thinking and writing on Peirce is condensed in the lucid prose of this new book on Peirce's mature understanding of signs. -- Jaime Nubiola, Professor of Philosophy, University of Navarra, Spain
Jappys book is a well-grounded, sophisticated, and provocative contribution to determining the range and scope of Peirces theory of signs. Combining historical nuance, systematic reconstruction and analysis, and felicitous citation of core texts and illustrative examples, it challenges us to confront the problem of the internal unity and power of Peirces reflections on the logic and classification of signs. -- Robert E. Innis, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA
This book by Tony Jappy presents yet another topical contribution to the journey of exploration and understanding through the great semiotic network and its signifying implications. A rigorous Peirce expert, his scholarship is at once brilliant and profound for complexity, clarity in exposition, and critical perspicacity. While rereading and updating interpretations of Peirces scientific research on signs in conjunction with his philosophy of representation, Jappy proceeds to reveal aspects of human experience unfathomed by most. -- Susan Petrilli, Professor of Philosophy and Theory of Languages, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy

Author Bio

Tony Jappy is professeur honoraire of English Linguistics and Semiotics at the University of Perpignan-Via Domitia, France.