JUNGK, Isabel Pontifcia Universidade Catlica de So Paulo/PUC-SP - Brasil THE RELEVANCE OF THE SIGN STRUCTURE OF WORDS FOR THOUGHT

(13th International Meetin on Pra !atis!" PUC/SP" #$11% &BS'(&C') *ri inall+ conceived as a !ethod to deter!ine the !eanin of ,ords" es-eciall+ scientific and -hiloso-hical ter!s" the -ra !atis! of Charles Sanders Peirce is a !ethod for searchin the ter!inolo ical clearness (or clarit+% needed for scientific thou ht. /e ar ued that -ra !atis!" as e0-ressed in his -ra !atic !a0i!" is strictl+ a !eanin criterion. &s Peirce ca!e to the conclusion that all -heno!enic diversit+ ,as reduci1le to three !odes of 1ein " ,hich" 1ein universal cate ories should 1e o1serva1le in an+ -heno!enon" althou h at varia1le de rees of -ro!inence" the de rees of clearness of a conce-t are also divided in three" accordin to these three universal lo ical su1strates. *n the other hand" Peirce2s cate ories are the foundation of a ternary logic and" des-ite their e0tre!el+ eneral and a1stract character" the+ achieve stren th in the relations of interde-endence ,ithin ,hich the+ are involved" ,hat enerates a combinatorium ,hich" on its turn" ori inates the several classes of si ns in Se!iotics. 'he cate ories are o!ni-resent" and a sin le si n can dis-la+ a -luralit+ of faces si!ultaneousl+. /ence" Peirce3s se!iotic does not esta1lish ri id relations" since a continuum of radations" infinite re ressions and -ro ressions are e0actl+ ,hat his -hiloso-hical fra!e,or4 see4s to hi hli ht. Peirce3s contri1ution to the understandin of si n -rocesses is uni5ue. In re ard to ho, the thou ht -rocesses" 6all thou ht is e!1odied in si ns7 related to the three cate ories" and for Peirce" this si ns are !ostl+ of the sa!e eneral structure of ,ords (CP 8.339%. /o,ever" ,e rarel+ thin4 of the! as si ns" as doin so is :!anifestl+ a second ste- in the use of lan ua e: (CP ;.;3<%. In this net,or4 of relations" it3s understanda1le ,h+ -eircean conce-ts" ,hen a--lied" have a de ree of co!-le0it+ directl+ -ro-ortional to the level of enli hten!ent ai!ed on the anal+sis of a iven -heno!enon" effort indeed re,arded 1+ the -otential that a theor+ of this !a nitude re-resents for the -ro ress of hu!an e-iste!olo +. In this sense" ,ords" considered as autono!ous units" -resent the!selves as the funda!ental si ns used 1+ thou ht" and the i!-ortance of their anal+sis

1ased on the classes of si ns relies on the -ossi1ilit+ of revealin su1tleties and differences of !eanin of lin uistic si ns that can hel- clearness of thou ht.

=>?@*(AS) Peircean se!iotics. Bin uistic si ns. 'hou ht. Clearness (or Clarit+%. Pra !atis! and Pra !aticis!.