RE: Is FIS in semiotics?

At 03:55 AM 11/07/02, you wrote:
>John,
>
>You commented:
>
><Either information theory involves meaning, and has
><something useful to say about it, in which case it is a part of semiotics, to
><which we should probably turn attention, or it does not, in which case it is
><independent.
>
>Yes, I think this is a key question for us. I would prefer to see our
>information theory remain as a promising orphan, in a nascent 'umbrella
>domain',
>capable of shifting its shape across the sciences rather than as some
>extrinsic
>notion within sub-specialities like semiotics, informatics, hermeneutics etc.
>I'm with Locke - let's take "a view of human knowledge in the whole extent
>of it."
>
>By semiotics I assume you are including all schools (including Saussurian)
>and their progeny. Obviously not all linguists would subsume meaning under
>'sign'.

No, a lot presuppose it. My observation was premised on the need for getting
from information that is without meaning, or for which meaning is stipulated,
and hence non-explanatory about meaning, to an explanation of meaning.
Sausurian semiotics presupposes meaning, and does not really deal with semiosis
as such. I should have been more clear. My main concern was to express
the non-triviality of the problem, which I am glad that at least one person
also recognizes.

>If a (possibly non-Shannonist) information theory were to adopt 'meaning'
>does it head off for a semantic bushwalk (with Frege, Fodor, Dretske et al)?
>It might be more fruitful for our theory to explore a resonant concept like
>'abduction'(which has attracted Gregory Bateson, C S Pierce and the radical
>constructivists who have occasionally hovered over our conversations).

I agree with the last, wholeheartedly. I am not at all convinced it is enough,
or even on the right track ultimately, but definitely fruitful to explore.

John

----------
Dr John Collier john.collier@kla.univie.ac.at
Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research
Adolf Lorenz Gasse 2 +432-242-32390-19
A-3422 Altenberg Austria Fax: 242-32390-4
http://www.kli.ac.at/research.html?personal/collier
Received on Thu Jul 11 10:26:15 2002