This book tells the story of how 18th-century European philosophy used Locke's theory of signs to build a natural history of speech and to investigate the semiotic tools with which nature and civil society can be controlled. The story ends at the point where this approach to language sciences was called into question. Its epilogue is the description of the birth of an alternative between empiricism and idealism in late 18th- and early 19th-century theories of language. This alternative has given rise to such irreducible dichotomies as empirical linguistics vs. speculative linguistics, philosophies of linguistics vs. philosophy of language. Since then philosophers have largely given up reflecting on linguistic practice and have left the burden of unifying and interpreting empirical research data to professional linguists, limiting themselves to the study of foundations and to purely self-contemplative undertakings. The theoretical and institutional relevance to the present of the problems arising from this situation is in itself a sufficient reason for casting our minds back over a period in which, as in no other, linguistic research was an integral part of the encyclopaedia of knowledge, and in which philosophers reflected, and encouraged reflection, upon the semiotic instruments of science and politics.

The real mystery of the movement of God's Spirit and Words can be found subtlety spoken in the foundation of the Church on the day of Pentecost. In the book of Acts chapter 2, where the Apostle Peter quotes the prophet Joel, who said in last days that God would pour out in spirit on all people and that non-clerical people(sons and daughters)would be revealed mysteries of God. Such is so with the Author of this book. Although he is not a member of the clergy, Andrew the Prophet is receiving many revelations from God and how they relate to Science and current world events.

In this book, pre-eminent semiotician Arthur Asa Berger decodes the meanings of common objects of consumption and their perceived 'sacredness' in consumerist cultures. Using semiotic theory, consumer culture is dissected in new and fascinating ways.

This book explores the scientific causality of sidereal astrology and discusses the power of astrology with arguments given under five headings - Stars, Rays, Gravity (General Law of Relativity), Humans. The hypothesis presented is that electromagnetic plasma radiations coming from Zodiac constellations may be affecting the neurons of the newborn. Despite the main subjects of this research are science-based, not astrology; the data presented as evidence for the theory have been simplified to reach readers who are not interested in physics and astronomy. Information is presented in a concise, clear and attractive way; all content is written in jargon that covers the topics from the very beginning and explains them in a very simplified way. Therefore, this book can be enjoyable for those who want to learn interesting things about the structure of the universe.

Victoria Welby (1837–1912) dedicated her research to the relationship between signs and values. She exchanged ideas with important exponents of the language and sign sciences, such as Charles S. Peirce and Charles S. Ogden. She examined themes she believed crucially important both in the use of signs and in reflection on signs. But Welby's research can also be understood in ideal dialogue with authors she could never have met in real life, such as Mikhail Bakhtin, Susanne Langer, and Genevieve Vaughan. Welby contends that signifying cannot be constrained to any one system, type of sign, language, field of discourse, or area of experience. On the contrary, it is ever more developed, enhanced, and rigorous, the more it develops across different fields, disciplines, and areas of experience. For example, to understand meaning, Welby evidences the advantage of translating it into another word even from the same language or resorting to metaphor to express what would otherwise be difficult to conceive. Welby aims for full awareness of the expressive potential of signifying resources. Her reflections make an important contribution to problems connected with communication, expression, interpretation, translation, and creativity.