Cell Language Theory, The: Connecting Mind And Matter

Biosemiotics 271

“6x9” b2861 The Cell Language Theory: Connecting Mind and Matter

from the 9 types of e-signs. Sheriff provides a clear rationale for deriving

nine types of signs in [98]. Before quoting Sheriff, the following prelimi-

nary information is provided to facilitate understanding what Sheriff has

to say:

(1) According to the metaphysics of Peirce, there are three and only three

modes of being in the Universe — Firstness, Secondness, and

Thirdness [94, pp. 75–76].

(2) The term “sign” is used in two ways — as a triadic entity, i.e., as

“representamen-object-interpretant”, or as a monadic one, i.e., as

“representamen”. Representamen is also called “sign vehicle”, and

“interpretant” is the effect a sign has on the mind of the interpreter.

(3) Peircean “trichotomies” (i.e., the action or results of cutting something

into 3) refer to the following three sets of three terms (see Table 6.6):

(i) qualisign, sinsign, legisign

(ii) icon, index, symbol

(iii) rheme, dicent sign, argument.

Table 6.6 The nine types of signs (e-signs).

Firstness (1)

(Quality,

Possibility)

Secondness (2)

(Actuality,

Reaction)

Thirdness (3)

(Law, Habit,

Representation)

Firstness (1)

(Representamen)

Qualisign (S1,1) Sinsign (S1,2) Legisign (S1,3)

Secondness (2) (Object) Icon (S2,1) Index (S2,2) Symbol (S2,3)

Thirdness (3) (Interpretant) Rheme (S3,1) Dicent sign (S3,2) Argument (S3,3)

The following quote from Sheriff [98] succinctly describes how

Peirce arrived at his nine types of signs:

We have already defined Firstness, Secondness, and Thirdness as onto-

logical modes of being (possibility, fact, and law) and as experienced

in consciousness (feeling, reaction-sensation, and general conception).

When Peirce analyzed his definition of a sign (as representamen-

object-interpretant) in relation to each of these categories, he

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