Semeiology (Semiotics)

1. Canonical Definition

Semeiology is the scientific study of how meaning is produced, transmitted, and interpreted through signals. Within Meaning System Science, Semeiology establishes the criteria for signal alignment (P) by explaining how signals acquire meaning, how their relationships structure interpretation, and how inconsistencies emerge when systems operate under increased complexity or interpretive load.

2. Featured Lineage: Foundational Thinkers

Ferdinand de Saussure — Course in General Linguistics (1916)
Argued that meaning emerges from structured differences among signals; MSS builds on this by defining signal alignment (P) as a structural condition required for coordinated interpretation.

Charles Sanders Peirce — Collected Papers (1931–1958)
Introduced the triadic relation between sign, object, and interpretant, showing that meaning depends on stable interpretive patterns; MSS extends this by analyzing how signal behavior influences proportional stability across variable states.

3. Plainly

Semeiology studies how signals (words, actions, visuals, and other cues) carry meaning.
It explains how people interpret signals consistently and why interpretation becomes inconsistent when signals conflict, compete, or exceed the system’s capacity to process them.

4. Scientific Role in Meaning System Science

Semeiology defines the signal dimension of MSS. It explains:

• how truth conditions become interpretable signals,

• how alignment or distortion forms across channels, and

• how signal behavior influences interpretive stability.

It provides the scientific foundation for modeling signal alignment (P).

5. Relationship to the Variables (T, P, C, D, A)

• T — Truth Fidelity: Signals preserve or distort the accuracy established by T.

• P — Signal Alignment: Semeiology defines how alignment forms and how misalignment emerges.

• C — Structural Coherence: Structural pathways determine how signals propagate and where inconsistencies originate.

• D — Drift: Conflicting, ambiguous, or overloaded signals increase contradiction and raise the rate of D.

• A — Affective Regulation: Capacity influences how signals are interpreted, prioritized, or dismissed.

6. Relationship to the First Law of Moral Proportion

L = (T × P × C) / D

Signal alignment (P) is a stabilizing variable in the equation.
Semeiology supports legitimacy (L) by establishing the structural conditions under which signals correspond reliably to truth and structure.

7. Application in Transformation Science

Transformation Science uses Semeiology to analyze how signal conditions affect variable proportionality.
It identifies how conflicting channels, inconsistent cues, signal overload, or ambiguous directives introduce contradiction that increases drift (D) and reduces interpretive stability.

8. Application in Transformation Management

Practitioners use semeiological analysis to:

• align formal and informal communication pathways,

• identify conflicting signals that produce interpretive inconsistency,

• clarify authority and role-based signals, and

• ensure signals support coordinated decision-making.

Semeiology is essential for diagnosing and stabilizing large-scale transformation.

9. Example Failure Modes

• Signals convey different interpretations across roles, lowering P.

• The volume of signals exceeds interpretive capacity, raising D.

• Formal signals conflict with informal cues, reducing reliability.

• Structural pathways transmit signals inconsistently, reducing C and distorting P.

10. Canonical Cross-References

Semantics • Meaning System Science • Physics of Becoming • Truth Fidelity (T) • Signal Alignment (P) • Structural Coherence (C) • Drift (D) • Affective Regulation (A) • Transformation Science • 3E Standard™ • LDP-1.0