Peirce's Concept of the Index

The Need for a Fourth Sign

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine C.S. Peirce's concept of the indexical sign, to show that it is inadequate to account for the 'indexical' properties of language, and to propose a modification of that concept. After a brief review of Peirce's semiotic theory, it is established that Peirce subsumed two related, but fundamentally incompatible kinds of signs as indices. These types of indexical signs are distinguished' by differing relationships between the signs themselves and what they represent. It is then shown that both types of indexical signs are found in language, and, consequently, that a fourth sign should be recognized.