Charles Peirce presented a theory of information, which is not exactly a perspective on how information is transmitted between communicators, but rather a semiotic take on the process, focused on signs, representation, and interpretation. This view was largely ignored by Peirce’s contemporaries, who focused on a syntactic or semantic view of information theory. The logical foundation of his concept approaches information as a tool for knowledge growth through the interpretation of symbols. In Peirce’s view, information is interpreted knowledge, lying anywhere between two extremes, one end of which is where no fact is known, and the other where we have knowledge of all things (Noth, 2012).

In this scaled model, information can grow as we move along the line, but will always be incomplete. Information is also not just communicated through, or contained within symbols, but also used as interpretant of said symbols. The process allows for knowledge to grow continued interpretation over time. Furthermore, information is also defined as a product of both a message and a state of knowledge. In saying this, there is inherent information within a message, which is then referenced against an existing body of knowledge within the interpreter or receiver. Knowledge growth comes from information that does not already exist in a communicator’s state of knowledge.

Peirce’s categories of semiotics

Peirce also categorizes the signs into three different forms – icon, index, and symbol. An icon is a direct representation of an object, such as a photo of a ball to depict an actual ball. An index is a logical indication of an object, such as a grumbling stomach to connote hunger, or the presence of smoke to indicate the presence of a logical source, such as a fire. Symbols represent meaning through social or cultural convention. A currency symbol indicates what kind of money and monetary value a communicator is tasked to assign to a certain numerical value. The pi sign means 22/7 to those who have studied enough mathematics to understand its meaning and importance. Road signs and lane markings give instructions to drivers on legal maneuvers, provided that they have gone through driver’s education. Words are considered symbols, since they have no actual connection to the object, but instead rely on an agreed upon linguistic tradition.

Education provides a common platform on which people who don’t normally interact with one another can hone their critical thinking skills through philosophical discussions of reality.

Signs are fluid, in that they can change from index to symbol based on socio-technical development. An example is the floppy disk index to denote the save function. In the information age, we no longer use floppy disks, but still understand the sign as a way to save work on a computer. The meanings of signs also change from culture to culture, depending on the collective social experience with assigning certain objects to certain signs (Occam’s Answers, 2017).

Is language a part of semiotics?

Saussure examines semiotics through language by viewing words as communicative symbols that convey meaning between people. In comparative philology for example, more meaning about one language can be derived by studying another, provided that there is some linguistic relationship between the two. Neogrammarians draw connections between state of language and real-world events, in that history shapes linguistics (Campbell, 2015).

For cultural materialist Raymond Williams, communication plays a crucial role in education, in that the gathering of people from all walks of life can expand their understanding of the world through discourse. In his view, education provides a common platform on which people who don’t normally interact with one another can hone their critical thinking skills through philosophical discussions of reality. A common understanding between different segments of society is fundamental to establishing a working democracy. In this setting, both educator and student learn from each other, meeting as equals and reaping the benefits of democratic learning. The communicative process shared among all participants, cultural or otherwise, is crucial in enabling the potential of adult education (infed.org, 2023).

Williams expands the concept of education beyond the formal classroom to the all-encompassing idea of public pedagogy, where social units and public institutions are equally responsible for educating their concerned communities. This includes religious groups, government establishments, and the Fourth Estate. The media, which had the potential to advance democratic learning, may however still answer to the commercial and political interests of its owners, whether private sector or government. It is therefore necessary to continue to advocate for its former purpose, instead of merely accepting it as a tool for elite owners to push their agenda on the masses. Culture plays a critical role in enabling this, as it will depend on how accepting the people are of the media being utilized for one purpose or the other.

The media’s role in the democratic process

Fast forward to the digital age, the media has never played a bigger role in not only championing — or snuffing out — democratic social processes, but actually constructing reality for all of society, media consumers and non-consumers alike. Traditional outlets and social platforms are in an epistemological tug of war in documenting, creating, and interpreting knowledge for society. For decades, legacy media dominated the construction of a reality that steered social progress, or decay, depending on you’re asking, until the dawn of the Internet age changed the dynamics of the information ecosystem. The press practiced gatekeeping – and they still do today – in order to control the quality and quantity of information that entered public discourse. Media consumers knew and talked about only the issues that media executives deemed the right issues for the specific culture they served.

Today, the potential for equal or greater influence than traditional media is no longer burdened by impossible barriers to entry, such as large amounts of financial and human resources and political influence. Anyone can create a justifiably successful source of information, a democratization of the whole landscape if you will. With that came lower journalistic standards, however, to the point of virtually no commitment to the kind of objectivity and integrity that one would typically expect of an entity that holds that much power over the public imagination. And manipulate the publication imagination they do. This is most prevalent in politically-motivated media outlets, where publishers construct a reality that doesn’t yet exist to drive consumption of their content. In the United States, we saw that fabricated reality seep into the real-world when voters who believed the 2020 election was stolen stormed the US capitol to “take back America.” It is a moment that will go down in history as the most irresponsible use of information and culture to destabilize government and society with its own citizens (Bump, 2022).

References

Bump, P. (2022, April 4). The unique, damaging role Fox News plays in American Media. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/04/unique-damaging-role-fox-news-plays-american-media/ 

Campbell, J. (2015, August 16). Ferdinand de Saussure linguistics semiotics semiology. Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/14967007/Ferdinand_de_Saussure_Linguistics_Semiotics_Semiology 

Nöth, W. (2012). Charles S. Peirce’s theory of information: A theory of the growth of symbols and of knowledge. Cybernetics & Human Knowing, 19(1-2), 99-123.

Occam’s Answers. (2017). What is semiotics? YouTube. Retrieved November 18, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7VA95JdbMQ. 

Raymond Williams and Education – a slow reach again for control. infed.org. (2013, February 7). https://infed.org/raymond-williams-and-education-a-slow-reach-again-for-control/