Semiotic Anima(l)

Abstract

Abstract This review argues that the notion of the semiotic animal as the most characteristic one for human activity has a long and disputable history, not in Deely’s writings only but in philosophy in general. The idea of the three co-authors of the book under review, taken from “the air”, ripens and expands with unexpected meaning with respect to its origin, appropriateness, and ongoing novelty. The strongest argument for coining the new definition was found by Deely in Peirce’s semiosis and in Poinsot’s way of sign, a road that had not been taken in the history of knowledge.