Charles S. Peirce, the founder of pragmatism, was also the architect of a remarkable theory of signs that continues to puzzle and inspire philosophers today. In this important new book, Mats Bergman articulates a bold new approach to Peirces semeiotic through a reassessment of the role of rhetoric in his work. This systematic approach, which is offered as an alternative to formalistic accounts of Peirces project, shows how general sign-theoretical conceptions can plausibly be interpreted as abstractions from everyday communicative experiences and practices. Building on this fallible ground of rhetoric-in-use, Bergman explicates Peirces semeiotic in a way that is conducive to the development of torical inquiry and philosophical criticism. Following this path, the underpinnings of a uniquely Peircean philosophy of communication is unearthed a pragmatic conception encased in a normative rhetoric, motivated by the continual need to transform and improve our habits of action.
Author Biography
Mats Bergman is Principal Lecturer in Media Culture at Arcada University of Applied Sciences and Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
