Dear Howard, Gary, lists, I think Howard and myself are on the same main line here, even if not in all details. I think Howard's generalization of "language" goes too far because that seems to require an elaborated system to exist as a prerequisite to even the very first occurrences of signs in early life. I find it implausible such a system was in place well before any individual sign. My own generalization of "proposition", I think, is less demanding.
I also infer that Frederik would interpret the deflated truth value of a primitive proposition as its survival value. I am not sure I agree here. I think even the deflated truth value differs from survival value. I can imagine cases where a true sign adds to survival value not because of its truth but because of some accidental feature by it. I can also imagine cases where a true sign is neutral as to survival value … I agree with that interpretation, but could a realist be satisfied with that interpretation of truth? Also, how is a genetic instruction (an imperative or conditional) interpretable as a proposition? I have no hesitation against accepting that as a proposition. But that has to do with the definition of that word. Peirce - as I reconstructed in ch. 3 - saw propositions as an ideal content which may, subsequently, be put to use in different speech acts such as assertions, imperatives, interrrogatives, etc. But because assertions are taken as the prototypical proposition act, also in Peirce, a terminological confusion may arise from calling assertions simply "propositions". Most simple propositions in biosemiotics are rather imperatives involved in conditionals - like "If X, do Y" … Best F ----------------------------- PEIRCE-L subscribers: Click on "Reply List" or "Reply All" to REPLY ON PEIRCE-L to this message. PEIRCE-L posts should go to peirce-L@list.iupui.edu<mailto:peirce-L@list.iupui.edu> . To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message not to PEIRCE-L but to l...@list.iupui.edu<mailto:l...@list.iupui.edu> with the line "UNSubscribe PEIRCE-L" in the BODY of the message. More at http://www.cspeirce.com/peirce-l/peirce-l.htm .
----------------------------- PEIRCE-L subscribers: Click on "Reply List" or "Reply All" to REPLY ON PEIRCE-L to this message. PEIRCE-L posts should go to peirce-L@list.iupui.edu . To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message not to PEIRCE-L but to l...@list.iupui.edu with the line "UNSubscribe PEIRCE-L" in the BODY of the message. More at http://www.cspeirce.com/peirce-l/peirce-l.htm .
