The primacy of semiosis : an ontology of relations / Paul Bains.

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The Primacy of Semiosis provides a semiotic that subverts the opposition between realism and idealism; one in which what have been called 'nature' and 'culture' interpenetrate in an expanding collective of human and non-human.

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CHOICE Review

Bains, an independent scholar based in Australia, performs a rebirth of philosophy as semiotics. By arguing that relations are external and univocal in their ontology, he connects a somewhat-ignored branch of semiotics developed in the 17th century by John Poinsot (John of St. Thomas) to the contemporary thinking of Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari, and John Deely through the semiotic triad of Charles Sanders Peirce. Bains positions the concept of relation not only as an abstract key that makes the overall tracing of Western philosophy possible but also as the fuse that short-circuits its realist/idealist dichotomy. This thoughtful engagement with "postmodern theory" focuses on the ontology of relations and thus allows for a semiotic that is not reducible to either realism or idealism. Taking to heart Deely's argument that the line between what is interpretation dependent and what is interpretation independent is constantly shifting, Bains proposes an initial step toward a novel relational corpus of knowledge and practices. The argument is clear and persuasive, but it presupposes an extensive familiarity with semiotics and contemporary philosophy. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, and faculty. K. Tancheva Cornell University