Abstract
Signs do not only ‘represent’ something for somebody, as Peirce's definition goes, but also ‘mediate’ relations between us and our world, including ourselves, as has been elaborated by Vygotsky. We call the first the representational function of a sign and the second the epistemological function since in using signs we make distinctions, specify objects and relations, structure our observations, and organize societal and cognitive activity. The goal of this paper is, on the one hand, to develop a model in which both these functions appear as complementary and, on the other, to show that this complementarity is essential for the dynamics of scientific activity, causing a dialectical process of generating new epistemological and representational means. This will be demonstrated with an example of how two scientists with different background knowledge analyze educational data collaboratively.
About the authors
Michael H. G. Hoffmann (b. 1961). His research interests include semiotic and epistemological foundations of learning theories and of conflict research theories. His recent publications include ‘How to get it. Diagrammatic Reasoning as a tool of knowledge development and its pragmatic dimension’ (2004); ‘Signs as means for discoveries. Peirce and his concepts of “Diagrammatic Reasoning,” “Theorematic Deduction,” “Hypostatic Abstraction,” and “Theoric Transformation”’ (2005); and ‘Problems of understanding in conflicts and a semiotic solution’ (2005).
Wolff-Michael Roth (b. 1953). His research interests include applied cognitive science, science studies, communication, epistemology, and semiotics. His recent major publications include Toward an Anthropology of Graphing: Semiotic and Activity-Theoretic Perspectives (2003); Rethinking Scientific Literacy (with Angela Calabrese, 2004); and Talking Science: Language and Learning in Science (2005).
© Walter de Gruyter
