Analogical associations in the frame of a “neoclassical” semiotic theory

It’s been a long time since the concept of iconic signs was proposed by C. S. Peirce; from that time on, many adjustments have been suggested, while in the meantime we were increasingly realizing that semiotic systems are for the most part established just on some type of similarity. But the more we saw that the sphere of analogical signification was expanding its realm, the more we became aware of how inadequate was the notion of a simple relationship connecting locally a physical object with a mental entity. Of course, on the other hand, there was the more refined theory of sign conceived by Saussure, but this theory, by its very definition, addresses a restricted domain, and definitely does not include the field of those signs which rest on analogical associations. Nevertheless, I intend to show (with the aid of specific examples) how the Saussurian model can be perfectly applied to every type of sign – and to analogical signs in particular – in the frame of an innovative semiotic theory that we can define “neoclassic”, as it joins the latest “sociosemiotic” approach with the most precious foundations of our discipline.