La linea, il triangolo e il quadrato. La natura relazionale di segno e significato in Aristotele, Peirce e Hjelmslev

The work proposes a Structuralist philosophy of semiotics by combining the semiotic theories of Aristotle, Peirce and Hjelmslev. In Aristotle we find for the first time in history an intimate connection between theory of relations and theory of signs and meanings. The two main paradigms of semiotic science have been set by Pierce and Structuralism respectively, yet a Structuralist account of semiotic principles is entitled to employ and enhance Peirce’s insights. In fact, the typology of semiotic usages, which is not possible in Glossematics (Hjelmslev’s theory of language), is attainable thanks to Peirce’s typology of signs. On the other hand, Peirce did not mean to provide an account of languages in terms of systems of minimal figures, a view defended by Glossematics. In this respect, Peirce’s theory of signs and Glossematics complement each other. From a philosophical standpoint, Aristotle’s concept of designation (σημαίνειν καθ’ἑνός) is capable of unifying Hjelmslevian designation and Peircean determination of the sign by its object. Eventually, combining Peircean semiotics and Glossematics can arguably have consequences for Giorgio Prodi’s biosemiotics and Marcello Barbieri’s code biology. The outlined framework thus leads to a new understanding of Aristotle’s theory of the three souls (nutritive, sensitive and rational) in terms of organic, mental and human domains of semiosis.