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Finite cognition and finite semiosis: A new perspective on semiotics for the information age

  • Cameron Shackell ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: April 25, 2018

Abstract

For semiotics the precipitous arrival of the information age and the “attention economy” suggests a new theoretical standpoint: that semiosis is a function of the finiteness of human cognition and the allocation of that resource. Proceeding on this basis, a model is presented that offers novel definitions of semiosis and semiotics. Inter-agent similarity of cognition and its mediation through artefacts are then introduced to suggest how finite cognition may be determined and equilibrated through reticular mechanisms. Finally, an explanation of how artefacts evolve to consume cognition based on Foucault’s concept of corpora of knowledge is broached.

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Published Online: 2018-4-25
Published in Print: 2018-4-25

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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