The Life of Symbols and Other Legisigns: More than a Mere Metaphor?

Abstract

This chapter examines the biosemiotic implications of the thesis put forward by C. S. Peirce in 1901 that symbols are living things in more than a metaphorical sense. It argues that this thesis is typical of Peirce’s synechistic approach to scientific inquiry. Peirce did not mean that symbols are biological organisms. Instead, he wanted to convey the insight that they are more than merely similar to organisms, as they share essential features with living beings. Among these features are: Symbols are born (created), survive, but may also die out (become extinct). Like parasites (or symbionts), symbols lead their life in living beings, not only of human, but also of nonhuman nature. Symbols display a certain autonomous, but in a sense vicarious, agency. They spread by self-replication and interpretation. Symbols grow and they have the potential for self-correction against errors, falsity, distortion, and lack of meaning (nonsense). The chapter also examines why Peirce ascribes these characteristics to symbols and not to signs in general.