Peirce’s Theory of Signs

Peirce’s Theory of Signs explains how we communicate and understand meaning through signs, which have three components: the *representamen* (the sign itself), the *interpretant* (the meaning or understanding it produces), and the *object* (what the sign refers to). For example, a red stop sign (representamen) refers to the command to stop (object) and evokes the understanding to halt (interpretant). Peirce categorized signs into three types—icons (resemble what they represent), indexes (point to or are connected with their object), and symbols (stand for their objects by convention). This framework helps clarify how signs work in language, symbols, and other forms of communication.