From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!wupost!emory!iccdev!gwinnett!depsych!rc Tue Nov 19 11:09:32 EST 1991
Article 1255 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: rc@depsych.Gwinnett.COM (Richard Carlson)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Is semiotics an "informal logic"?
Message-ID: <TTF6aB3w164w@depsych.Gwinnett.COM>
Date: 9 Nov 91 14:37:52 GMT
References: <1991Nov8.225437.8880@nuscc.nus.sg>
Lines: 46

smoliar@hilbert.iss.nus.sg (stephen smoliar) writes:
> I remain amazed that the literature in semiotics is still growing.  I
> propose the following blunt assessment of the current state of the art:
> There are two classes of philosophers pursuing the study of symbols.  Those
> who have acquired the skills necessary to use the computer as a symbol
> manipulating tool are doing cognitive science.  Those who have not are
> doing semiotics.

I keep hearing that Greimas' students are doing mathematical
semiotics and AI, but the research is not available in English. In
and article, "On Meaning," in _New Literary History_ (Spring,
1989) Greimas details the ongoing literary and narrative research,
then adds:

The above more or less constitutes the outline of what in Paris is
called basic semiotic theory.  Yet new problems, new tendencies,
and new directions in semiotics that are appearing on the horizon
should be mentioned briefly before closing.  The first is related
to catastrophe theory which is an attempt to ground semiotics in
mathematics.  This is directly related to work done by Jean
Petitot who is inspired by Rene Thom.  As far as I can understand
the starting point of the theory, when an actant meets an actant
they set off a catastrophe.  I am also aware that as far as the
semiotic square is concerned, when a single actant actualizes a
trajectory, that corresponds to twenty-seven catastrophes.  For me
this is not very economical, so I leave this scientific task to
mathematicians.  To give an adequate formulation to semiotics and
make it operational, homogeneous objects and an isotopic language
are needed, so that the significations of the concepts remain
unequivocal.  Catastrophe theory is important insofar as it
accentuates the reality of the world and gives a more scientific
basis to the entire project.

Well, obviously Greimas himself lacks the mathematical
sophistication to follow everything that is going on in his shop,
but he clearly implies that they are working on making semiotics
computational.  I just wish I could find out where this material
is being published.  I'd hate to spend a year or so trying to
grasp semiotics at a "conceptual" level  and then discover that
the whole thing is garbage.

--
Richard Carlson        |    rc@depsych.gwinnett.com
Midtown Medical Center |    gatech!emory!gwinnett!depsych!rc
Atlanta, Georgia       |
(404) 881-6877         |


