Basics of Semiotics (Tartu Semiotics Library) [Paperback]

John Deely (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 9949190657 | ISBN-13: 978-9949190652 | Publication Date: February 2, 2009 | Edition: 5

Compared to its previous English edition (1990), the present version has been expanded and revised. It has almost doubled in volume - the chapters from eight to eleven are new, and the first, but especially the third and fourth chapters contain important additions. The book is supplied by a preface by K.Kull, S.Salupere and P.Torop. The text is bilingual - English and Estonian (translated by Kati Lindström).

Editorial Reviews

Review

[T]he only successful modern English introduction to semiotics ... a clear, creative, and provocative synthesis of major trends, past and present. -- Thomas A. Sebeok, Indiana University --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

John Deely is Professor of philosophy at the Center for Thomistic Studies of the University of St. Thomas (Houston), and author of numerous works on philosophy and semiotics, most recently The Impact on Philosophy of Semiotics (St. Augustine's Press), The Four Ages of Understanding (Toronto), and What Distinguishes Human Understanding (St. Augustine's Press). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 314 pages
• Publisher: Tartu University Press; 5 edition (February 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9949190657
• ISBN-13: 978-9949190652
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,176,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Philosophical Introduction to Semiotics, May 3, 2001

By 

Paul R. Bryant "drofphil" (Chicago, Il USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Basics of Semiotics (Advances in Semiotics) (Paperback)

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.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too Abstract, April 7, 2003

By 

Penelope J. Sparhawk (Gaithersburg, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Basics of Semiotics (Advances in Semiotics) (Paperback)

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.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic in its own right, May 2, 2010

By 

jmd (Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Basics of Semiotics (Tartu Semiotics Library) (Paperback)

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.