The place of will in meaning: On signification and intentionality

In the present paper, an attempt is made to study the concepts of natural sign and given sign from Augustine of Hippo (354–430) to contemporary semiotics. The enquiry is primarily concerned with three issues: 1) to expound and interpret the notions of natural and given signs and to unravel problems of terminology; 2) to discuss the argument of intentionality considered as a criterion by which this division was originally based; 3) to review the contemporary debate within semiotics on the notions of natural and intentional signification.