Causation as Indexical Semeiosis: Flaws in Mechanistic Biological Method

Abstract The concept of causation is widely regarded as a dyadic relation necessary for scientific inquiry, and as a basic component in discussions of biological mechanism, or of the same in other sciences. A re-examination of causation in view of Peirce’s Semeiotic shows that causation might more usefully be understood in terms of his Indexical Semeiosis analysis. By so proceeding, this hypothesis could yield useful experiments that show promise for removing some antinomies in sciences that are currently treated according to Necessitarian presuppositions.