THE SECRET OF RENDERING SIGNS EFFECTIVE: THE IMPORT OF C. S. PEIRCE'S SEMIOTIC RHETORIC (original) (raw)

Summary: In this article, I trace the historical development of Peirce's semiotic rhetoric from its early appearance as a sub-discipline of symbolistic to its mature incarnation as one of the three main branches of the science of semiotic, and argue that this change in status is a symptom of Peirce's broadening semiotic interest. The scope and character of the mature discipline of rhetoric is discussed in terms of a possible clash between rhetorical and methodological emphases, and a conciliatory strategy is suggested. The article concludes with some reflections on the relevance of Peircean rhetoric for future work in Peirce studies and semiotics.