Jeff, I see the question you've posed here as one manifestation of the necessary tension between analysis and synechism which drives Peircean semiotic. For the synechist, semiosis is a continuous process: any parts it has are of the same nature as itself. Yet for the analyst, it has three "separate" parts: object, sign, interpretant (in the order of determination); and the various possible relations between the parts (taking account of the mode of being of each part) enable us to distinguish between types of signs.
If we think of determination as a continuous process that takes time, its continuity implies that the analysis can be applied at any time scale, and the relations between the structures at these different scales (or levels of analysis) will show a self-similarity. But if we do a logical (rather than temporal) analysis of the parts, which as products of analysis have already given up their continuity, then the relations between parts at different levels of analysis becomes problematic. For instance, when we analyze the sign's determination of the interpretant to get different three types of interpretants, we can't take for granted that they all have the same relation to the object that the Interpretant has to the Object at the first level of analysis. So my answer to your question is: It depends on whether you consider the matter analytically or synechistically. Gary f. From: Jeffrey Brian Downard <jeffrey.down...@nau.edu> Sent: 25-Jun-18 21:28 To: Peirce-L <peirce-l@list.iupui.edu>; Gary Richmond <gary.richm...@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [PEIRCE-L] Direct experience and immediate object Gary R, Jon S, Gary F, List, Here is a question. Consider the following definition of the sign, which is consistent with what Peirce says in a number of places: A sign stands for something to the idea which it produces, or modifies. Or, it is a vehicle conveying into the mind something from without. That for which it stands is called its object; that which it conveys, its meaning; and the idea to which it gives rise, its interpretant. The object of representation can be nothing but a representation of which the first representation is the interpretant. But an endless series of representations, each representing the one behind it, may be conceived to have an absolute object at its limit. The meaning of a representation can be nothing but a representation. In fact, it is nothing but the representation itself conceived as stripped of irrelevant clothing. But this clothing never can be completely stripped off; it is only changed for something more diaphanous. So there is an infinite regression here. Finally, the interpretant is nothing but another representation to which the torch of truth is handed along; and as representation, it has its interpretant again. Lo, another infinite series. For starters, let us focus on the last sentence, which I have highlighted in bold and underline. If an interpretant functions as a sign in relation to some further interpretant, what is the implication of saying that there are three interpretants, the immediate, dynamical and final? Peirce says that in the process of cognition by agents who are relatively self-controlled, that the sign is thought playing the part of firstness, while the object is thought playing the role of secondness, while the interpretant is thought playing the part of thirdness. (CP 1.537) If this sounds odd to you, especially when thinking about the object, then consider the case where the object is something like a number, which is an idealized object formed by a process of hypostatic abstraction. In this kind of case of hypostatic abstraction, which is not by any means limited to mathematical objects, what was once a predicate comes to serve as the object for some further interpretant. Having made this point about the object, let's set it to the side and focus on the relation between signs and interpretants. In order to keep things straight, let's label things by saying that the object, sign and interpretant in the first case are each labelled level (1), and in the next stage where the interpretant is now serving as a sign in relation to some further interpretant, the sign, object and interpretant are at level (2). What is the implication of describing the interpretant (at level 1) that also functions as a sign (at level 2) in this way? The interpretant in level (1) is thought playing the part of thirdness (i.e., a genuine triad) with respect to the sign that it is serving to interpret, but that same interpretant/sign at level (2) has the character of firstness (i.e., a monadic character) with respect to its level (2) interpretant. Here is the question: what is the implication with respect to the character of the sign and interpretant at each level? That is, the interpretant at level (1) has three parts (immediate, dynamical and final) in its relation to the level (1) sign it interprets, but then it does not appear to have three parts when it is serving as a sign at level (2) in relation to some further level (2) interpretant. As a sign, it has the character of a thought playing the role of a first. Let me now restate the question: does the three part interpretant still have three parts when it is functioning as a sign, or does it have just one part? Yours, Jeff Jeffrey Downard Associate Professor Department of Philosophy Northern Arizona University
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