62 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 



they mean, how they are differentiated into kinds, plunges 

 one into the very heart of the cognitive situation. In the 

 present chapter the attempt will be made to examine symbols 

 and to describe their features so far as this is possible in the 

 limited space available. 



SIGN SITUATIONS 



The most convenient approach to the notion of symbol is 

 through a consideration of the more general idea of sign. " If 

 we stand in the neighborhood of a cross road and observe a 

 pedestrian confronted by a notice To Grantchester displayed 

 on a post, we commonly distinguish three important factors 

 in the situation. There is, we are sure, (1) a Sign which 

 (2) refers to a Place and (3) is being interpreted by a person. 

 All situations in which Signs are considered are similar to 

 this." 1 The accuracy of this as a statement of sign situations 

 in general is somewhat vitiated by the fact that animals 

 behave in a way which leads one to believe that they react 

 to signs. The dog who runs to the dining room at the sound 

 of the dinner bell is exhibiting a type of behavior which 

 can, in all fairness, be called interpretative response. Hence 

 the limitation which is introduced by Ogden and Richards 

 under (3) does not seem to be necessary for the description 

 of general sign situations. For the rest, however, the char- 

 acterization seems accurate. There must always be some- 

 thing which can be called a sign. This may be anything 

 whatsoever, subject only to the condition that it has the 

 capacity to refer or point when properly interpreted. Thus 

 a flag at half-mast may signify death, a cloud may signify 

 rain, and congested lungs may signify pneumonia. Further- 

 more, the sign must have the capacity to refer to something 

 outside itself. This, again, may be anything whatsoever, 

 subject only to the condition that it is the terminus of an 

 act of signification. Thus the word "Entrance" may signify 

 the actual doorway beneath the sign, an olive branch may 



1 C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards, Meaning of Meaning (New York: Harcourt, 

 Brace, 1930), p. 21. 



