The Semiotic Hierarchy: Life, consciousness, signs and language

The Semiodc Hierarchy: Life, consciousness, signs and language Ulis article oudines a general theory of meaning, T6e SemiofU Hierardij, distiaguishes between four major levels in the otganizaon of meanijDg: consousness, siffi fitnction and langfuff, ^tdiete eadi of tfaese, in this Order, both rests on the previous level, and makes possible the attainment of the next This is shown to be one possible instantiation of the Cognitive Semiotics ptogtam, with influences rom phenomenology, Popper's ttq>artite ontology, semiotics, linguistics, enactive cognitive sdence and evolutionary biology. Key concepts such as "language" and "sign" aie defined, as well as the four levels of The Semiotic Hierarchy, on the basis of the type of (a) subject, (b) value-system and (c) wodd in which the subject is embeddeA Finally, it is suggested how the levels can be imited in an evolutionary fitamewotk, assuming a strong form of emetgence giving rise to "ontologically" new properties: consdousness, signs and languages, on the basis of a semiotic, thoug^ not standardly biosemiotic, understanding of life.