The Meaning of Interpretation

Abstract

A discussion of C. S. Peirce's semiotics, especially his category of "interpretant." The term has neither common sense nor clear distinctness. An attempt is made to analyze & clarify its sense. The principal vagueness of interpretant consists in its being a meaning of the given sign & simultaneously another sign that interprets the previous one. So, interpretant is an internal part of the initial triad & an external operation of interpretation. Peirce uses the term interpretant in both senses. It is suggested that Peirce deliberately defined the interpretant vaguely. The ambiguity of the term reveals the substantial duality of the sign & of the process of semiosis. Every sign both interprets something & calls for interpretation; that which interprets must be interpreted itself - the concept of interpretant implies both aspects. The point is made that the semiotics which currently uses the term interpretant has to attempt the better clarification of this category. AA