Current issues in pictorial semiotics. Lecture three: From the Critique of the Iconicity Critique to Pictorality

In order to show why Eco, Goodman, and others were wrong in their classical critique of iconicity, we will pursue a close reading of Peirce, but we will interpret his text in accordance with more recent findings in cognitive and perceptual psychology. We will arrive at the conclusion that there are two very different kinds of iconicity, which we will call primary and secondary iconicity. Even so, pictorial iconicity has its peculiarities, which we will also try to elucidate. We will also consider to what extent the linguistic model may still be helpful, and in which respects it is misleading.