Books by John Deely

Originally published under title: Medieval philosophy redefined: Scranton [Pa.]: University of Scranton Press, 2010.

In his 'Letter on Humanism' of 1947, Heidegger declared that the subject/object opposition and the terminology that accrues to it had still not been properly addressed in the history of philosophy, and he awaited a proper disquisition that resolved the problem. To date, that has not been provided. This volume explains and solves the prevailing problems in the subjectivity/objectivity couplet, in the process making an indispensable contribution both to semiotics and to philosophy. This book shows that what is thought to be 'objective' in the commonplace use of the term is demonstrably different from what objectivity entails when it is revealed by semiotic analysis. It demonstrates in its exegesis of the 'objective' that human existence is frequently governed by examples of a 'purely objective reality'- a fiction which nevertheless perfuses, is perfused by, and guides experience. The ontology of the sign can be mind-dependent or mind-independent, just as the status of relation can be as legitimate on its own terms whether it is found in ens rationis or in ens reale. The difference in the awareness of human animals consists in this very contextualization that Deely's writings in general have made so evident: the ability to identify signs as sign relations, and the ability to enact relations on a mind-dependent basis. Purely Objective Reality offers the first sustained and theoretically consistent interrogation of the means by which human understanding of 'reality' will be instrumental in the survival- or destruction- of planet Earth.

The appeal of semiotics lies in its apparent ability to establish acommon framework for all disciplines, a framework rooted in the understanding of thesign as the universal means of communication. Introducing Semiotic provides asynoptic view of semiotic development, covering for the first time all the previousepochs of Western philosophy, from the pre-Socratics to the present. In particular, the book bridges the gap from St. Augustine (5th c.) to John Locke (17th c.). Itdelineates the foundations of contemporary semiotics and concretely reveals just howintegral and fundamental the semiotic point of view really is to Western culture.Because of its clarity of exposition and careful use of primary sources, IntroducingSemiotic will be an essential textbook for all courses in semiotics.

Contends that semiotics can lead us beyond the rationalist trap of modernity. This book reveals that John Poinsot's (1589-1644) philosophies provide the missing link between the ancient and the postmodern.

While Saint Augustine has been a household name for centuries, the same cannot be said of philosopher John Poinsot. This book contends that the history of semiotics cannot be conceived of without Poinsot's landmark contribution.

A collection of thirty essays from John Deely, a major figure in contemporary semiotics and an authority on scholastic realism and the works of Charles Sanders Peirce. It tracks Deely's development as a pragmatic realist, featuring his early essays on our relation to the world after Darwinism and articles on logic, semiotics, and objectivity.

'An impressive synthesis of semiotics and anthropology which puts human experience in a new light. Deely gives us the foundation for a new paradigm for anthropology.' -Nathan Houser, Peirce Edition Project

The first full-scale demonstration of the centrality of the theory of signs to the history of philosophy, Four Ages of Understanding provides a new vantage point from which to review and reinterpret the development of intellectual culture at the threshold of "globalization".