Abstract

Semiotics is a contemporary discipline that arose from the European structuralism of Saussure, Hjelmslev and Jakobson, and then (thanks to Eco) also received some contributions from the thought of American philosopher Peirce. But, on a deeper analysis, it can be observed that it has its historical roots in the philosophical tradition of classical antiquity. In this essay, the elements of continuity and the differences between contemporary semiotics and this tradition are analyzed, starting from the most obvious, which concerns two different models for the conception of the sign (equivalence vs inference).