Towards a teleo-semiotic theory of individuation

Abstract

Abstract This article attempts to develop a sketch or working model of a semiotic theory of individuation from a formalization of basic teleological structures. After caveats and provisional definitions, a formal apparatus is introduced that schematizes teleological structures by way of mathematical category theory. This is then combined with a commutation test for formal systems. Once the formal construction is sufficient, the extent to which the model can account for the operation by which objects, modes, kinds, and attributes become individuated from the “pure multiplicity” of indeterminate being is analyzed. Subsequently, the model is applied to a series of well-known problems in metaphysics and ontology – persistence, change, vagueness, coincidence, mereology, and universals – in order to demonstrate its effectiveness. The metaphysical picture that results from this application is positioned between the conventional extremes of realism and anti-realism: a semiotic anti-/realism. Empirical evidence is then also marshalled in support of the model by way of invocation and analysis of recent research into the development of the perceptual capacities of infants.