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Directory:Jon Awbrey/Papers/Inquiry Driven Systems : Part 6 (view source)

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Suppose now that each of the agents <math>\text{A}\!</math> and <math>\text{B}\!</math> reflects on the situational context of their discussion and observes on every occasion of utterance exactly who is saying what. By this critically reflective operation of ''considering the source'' each interpreter is empowered to create, in effect, an ''extended token'' or ''situated sign'' out of each utterance by indexing it with the proper name of its utterer. Though it arises by reflection, the augmented sign is not a higher order of abstraction so much as a restoration or reconstitution of what was lost by abstracting the sign from the signer in the first instance.

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In order to continue the development of this example, I need to employ a more precise system of marking quotations in order to keep track of who says what and in what kinds of context. To help with this, I use raised angle brackets <math>{}^\langle \ldots {}^\rangle\!</math> on a par with ordinary quotation marks <math>{}^{\backprime\backprime} \ldots {}^{\prime\prime}\!</math> to call attention to pieces of text as signs or expressions. The angle quotes are especially useful for embedded quotations and for text regarded as used or mentioned by interpreters other than myself, for instance, by the fictional characters <math>\text{A}\!</math> and <math>\text{B}.\!</math> Whenever possible, I save ordinary quotes for the outermost level, the one that interfaces with the context of informal discussion.

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In order to continue the development of this example, I need to employ a more precise system of marking quotations in order to keep track of who says what, and in what kinds of context. To help with this, I use pairs of raised angle brackets (<...>) on a par with ordinary quotation marks ("...") to call attention to pieces of text as signs or expressions. The angle quotes are especially useful for embedded quotations and for text regarded as used or mentioned by interpreters other than myself, for instance, by the fictional characters A and B. Whenever possible, I save ordinary quotes for the outermost level, the one that interfaces with the context of informal discussion.

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A notation like "<<A>, B, C>" is intended to indicate the construction of an extended (attributed, indexed, or situated) sign, in this case, by enclosing an initial sign "A" in a contextual envelope "<< >, , >" and inscribing it with relevant items of situational data, as represented by the signs "B" and "C". When a salient component of the situational data represents an observation of the agent B communicating the sign "A", then the compressed form "<<A>B, C>" can be used to mark this fact. If there is no additional contextual information beyond the marking of its source, then the form "<<A>B>" suffices to say that B said "A".

Jon Awbrey

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