2014-11-27
Semiotic thresholds: Hierarchy of mechanisms of learning
Kalevi Kull (University of Tartu)
Empirical grounding of the contemporary semiotic theories is insufficient, particularly in the area of prelinguistic sign systems. Some radical changes in semiotic theory are necessary in order to make evidence-based and experimental semiotics possible for all branches of semiotics.Since sign relations are acquired or learnt relations, it is reasonable to assume that major sign types are produced by different types of learning mechanisms.
Thus, we conclude that the major groups of living systems differ by their mechanisms of learning, which results their different logic of behavior and the separation via semiotic thresholds. Resulting taxonomy differs from Peircean classification. In order to build it, we generalize the Lotmanian insight about non-translatability as an assumption of meaning-making.