From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!paladin.american.edu!darwin.sura.net!jvnc.net!nuscc!mango!john Tue Nov 19 11:09:35 EST 1991
Article 1260 of comp.ai.philosophy:
Path: newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!paladin.american.edu!darwin.sura.net!jvnc.net!nuscc!mango!john
>From: john@mango.iss.nus.sg (John Waterworth)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Is semiotics an "informal logic"?
Message-ID: <1991Nov11.024611.12312@nuscc.nus.sg>
Date: 11 Nov 91 02:46:11 GMT
References: <91310.142252MORIARTY@NDSUVM1.BITNET> <rreiner.689479216@yorku.ca> <1991Nov8.225437.8880@nuscc.nus.sg>
Sender: usenet@nuscc.nus.sg
Organization: Institute of Systems Science, NUS, Singapore
Lines: 24

Semiotics seems now like a hangover from a bygone age, since it is
basically a code-decode approach elevated to the level of a general, if
vaguely stated, theory of communication. These days most linguists would
take the line that code-decoding processes are subservient to
inferential processes. The latter are autonomous and don't need, though
they work better with, the former. (not that I can speak for most
linguists, or indeed any linguists, but this is the trend in several
recent and paragmatically-oriented works). The code-decode and, hence,
the semiotic model depend on the idea of shared knowledge, usually
called mutual knowledge. But in reality, there is little, sometimes no,
mutual knowledge. Communication is risky and error-prone, often largely
erroneous. Semiotics is intellectually bankrupt, it simply cannot say
anything significant about language use, which is why there are no
semiotic laws.             

Anything that follows this sentence is unintentional, i.e.
non-ostensive, and therefore nothing can be inferred.       


-- 
   John Waterworth (john@iss.nus.sg)
   Institute of Systems Science                           Ph: +65 772-3111 
   National University of Singapore                      FAX: +65 778-2571
   Singapore 0511                               


