Customer Reviews

Basics Of Semiotics (Advances in Semiotics)

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Having waded through piles of literature on semiotics, I found that Deely's text was precisely what I had been looking for. Texts in semiotics seem to divide into two sorts. On the one hand, there are theoretical texts that introduce a maze of sign distinctions and accounts of semiosis. On the other hand, there are texts in applied semiotics that uncover the structures of various sign systems. Both sorts of texts are agreed that the semiotic approach represents a major shift from the tradition of representational thought, but are murky on the precise nature of this shift. It is this that makes Deely's book unique. Deely carefully develops his introduction to semiotics with respect to the philosophical tradition, showing how it offers a new alternative to the traditional positions of realism and idealism, that is lucidly argued and which draws out many of the not immediately noticeable consequences of the semiotic approach. While it is true that Deely's text sometimes suffers obscure usages of language (no doubt resulting from the influence of scholastic and Rennaissance theories of signs on his thought), this occasional obscurity is more than offset by his ability to draw out the implications of semiotics and show its relevance to various epistemological and ontological debates that have informed philosophy.

I hoped this book would give me an understanding of semiotics from the point of view of classical and scholastic metaphysics. Certainly John Deely has the learning to do this. But I found this book largely unreadable. Long, long sentences. Clause piled upon clause. No examples. No contact with the world of experience. If he were my student, I would force him to write out, in one page, using short sentences, just what he wanted to say. But alas, he has passed that stage. I haven't found the book I sought, but this is not that book.

I first read this book when in came out in the early 1990s, and only more recently obtained this newer updated edition.

Its title, _BASICS of Semiotics_, precisely describes what this book is about. For those who want a secondary _introduction_ rather than a brief study of Semiotic's basis, then perhaps another book may be more apt.

'Basics' presents the field of semiotics in all its essential characteristics - which is, after all, what 'basics' means.

Could the book have been written in a simpler way? Undoubtedly: there are a number of sections that, even to the seasoned philosophical reader with a background in both epistemology and classical studies, remain rather challenging and somewhat confusing.

Still, what Deely presents us is one of the most important philosophical works ever written. Its relative difficulty may continue to obscure its importance - for those who persevere, on the other hand, the insights gained will be well worth the effort.

I'll confess my bias here. I like not just facts or data, but key concepts or ideas--and this book has them, in spades. BUT I also like concrete material--specific examples, actual instances. Such illustrations of ideas, help me (1) comprehend the concepts, (2) see the crucial importance or "so-what" the difference the concepts make to some exigency, (3) to see how to apply or use the concepts, and (4) to read with more lively interest. And so, here's to the happy blending of the idea and the instance. ("Poetry is abstraction blooded.")

Unfortunately, many academic treatises float in the abstract stratosphere without ever descending to an earth-like instance.

This book is, alas, no exception. I clambered through the aerial crags of concept after concept (and no sense WHY this matters), and found only ONE specific example.

That of--a "thermometer." That's right--and I'm not even sure to what point....

Fortunately I discovered Semiotics for Beginners, by Daniel Chandler. "You could, too."

I hoped this book would give me an understanding of semiotics from the point of view of classical and scholastic metaphysics. Certainly John Deely has the learning to do this. But I found this book largely unreadable. Long, long sentences. Clause piled upon clause. No examples. No contact with the world of experience. If he were my student, I would force him to write out, in one page, using short sentences, just what he wanted to say. But alas, he has passed that stage. I haven't found the book I sought, but this is not that book.