Sign

Asignis an entity which indicates another entity. Insemiotics,a sign is something that can be interpreted as having ameaning,which is something other than itself, and which is therefore able to communicateinformationto the one interpreting or decoding the sign. Signs can work through any of the senses, visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory or taste, and their meaning can be intentional, such as a word uttered with a specific meaning, or unintentional, such as a symptom being a sign of a particular medical condition.

The entireuniverseis perfused with signs, if it is not composed exclusively of signs. ~Charles Sanders Peirce

Lifeis demanding withoutunderstanding
I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes, I saw the sign. ~Jonas Berggren

See also:

Semiotics

Quotes

Ireadthe signs
I gotallmystarsaligned
My amulets, my charms
I set all my false alarms
So I'll be someone
Who won't be forgotten.
~Annie Clark (St. Vincent)~

A sign is in a conjoint relation to the thing denoted and to themind.~Charles Sanders Peirce

• I saw the sign and it opened up myeyes,I saw the sign.
  Lifeis demanding withoutunderstanding.
  I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes, I saw the sign.
  No one's gonna drag you up to get into thelightwhere you belong
  But where do you belong?
  • Jonas Berggrenin "The Sign"

• Hey ifGodwill send his angels
  And if God will send asign
  And if God will send his angels
  Wouldeverythingbe alright?
  • Bono,"If God Will Send His Angels"onPop(1997); also used inCity of Angels(1998)

• Ireadthe signs,
  I got all mystarsaligned,
  My amulets, my charms,
  I set all my false alarms,
  So I'll be someone
  Who won't be forgotten.
  • Annie Erin Clark (aka St. Vincent),in "All My Stars Aligned", onMarry Me(2007)

• Signs, signs, everywhere a sign
  Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' mymind
  Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?
  • Les Emmerson,in "Signs"(1970)

• And the sign said, “Anybody caught trespassin' would be shot on sight”
  So, I jumped on the fence and-a yelled at the house
  "Hey, what gives you the right?
  To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mothernaturein
  IfGodwas here, He'd tell you to yourface,man, you're some kindasinner.
  • Les Emmerson,in "Signs"(1970)

• If there are soundreasonsor bases for the points you demand, then there is no need forviolence.On the other hand, when there is no sound reason that concessions should be made to you but mainly your own desire, then reason cannot work and you have to rely onforce.Thususing force is not asignofstrengthbut rather a sign ofweakness.
  • Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama,in "The Nobel Evening Address" inThe Dalai Lama: A Policy of Kindness(1990), p. 115

• Compassionandtoleranceare not asignofweakness,but a sign ofstrength.
  • Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama,as quoted inWords Of Wisdom: Selected Quotes by His Holiness the Dalai Lama(2001) edited by Margaret Gee, p. 71

• Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in grief, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
  • Jesus,Matthew 24:30

• Except ye see signs andwonders,ye will notbelieve.
  • Jesus,as quoted inGospel of John4:48

• The entireuniverseis perfused with signs, if it is not composed exclusively of signs.
  • Charles Sanders Peirce,as quoted inEssays in Zoosemiotics(1990) by Thomas A. Sebeok

• If the sign were not related to its object except by the mind thinking of them separately, it would not fulfil the function of a sign at all.Supposing, then, the relation of the sign to its object does not lie in a mental association, there must be a direct dual relation of the sign to its object independent of the mind using the sign. In the second of the three cases just spoken of, this dual relation is not degenerate, and the sign signifies its object solely by virtue of being really connected with it.Of this nature are all natural signs and physical symptoms. I call such a sign anindex,a pointing finger being the type of the class.
  The index asserts nothing; it only says "There!" It takes hold of our eyes, as it were, and forcibly directs them to a particular object, and there it stops.
  • Charles Sanders Peirce,in "On The Algebra of Logic: A Contribution to the Philosophy of Notation" inThe American Journal of Mathematics(1885)

• A sign is in a conjoint relation to the thing denoted and to the mind.If this triple relation is not of a degenerate species, the sign is related to its object only in consequence of a mental association, and depends upon a habit.Such signs are always abstract and general, because habits are general rules to which the organism has become subjected.They are, for the most part, conventional or arbitrary. They include all general words, the main body of speech, and any mode of conveying a judgment. For the sake of brevity I will call themtokens.
  • Charles Sanders Peirce,in "On The Algebra of Logic: A Contribution to the Philosophy of Notation" inThe American Journal of Mathematics(1885)