Education and reasoning
advancing a Peircean edusemiotic
pp. 79-91
in: Inna Semetsky (ed), Edusemiotics, Berlin, Springer, 2017Abstract
Reasoning is central to education and to semiotics, however the contribution that semiotics has made over years to our understanding of reasoning has only recently come to focus with the inception of edusemiotics. In this chapter, the author tackles the question of the relevance of semiosis to education and introduces the reader to the basics of Peirce's semiotics from an educational perspective. Such an approach brings reasoning into focus addressing the basic features of semiotics that support the conduct of reasoning. Central here are signs, interpretants and the three basic kinds of reasoning: abduction, deduction, and induction. These together offer a theory of inquiry. The author concludes by suggesting that much more research needs to be done to connect education and semiotics as regards teaching and learning. All of this work falls within the purview of edusemiotics, which promises to bring together what have to date been rather disparate efforts aimed at achieving similar ends.
