« Un meilleur exemple est une photographie » (CP 2.320). De la valeur de la photographie comme exemple dans les écrits de C. S. Peirce sur le signe.

Abstract

This paper further develops a previous discussion on the role of photography in C.S. Peirce’s semiotic thinking, in order to identify more precisely the function of the photographic image, as an examplar in Peirce’s semiotic theory rather than a theoretical object in its own right. Based on several texts from the 1890s, the argument claims that Peirce refered to the photograph in order to illustrate theoretical points – such as the icon/index distinction – rather than formulating a theory of the photograph – as index, especially. Next, Peirce’s use of the photograph as “example” is discussed in relation to both a historical context – that of the popularization of photography in the late 19th century – and to the frequently invoked notion, in Peircian semiotics, of “collateral knowledge”, a knowledge that is implied in the correct functionning of signs. Lastly, the article proposes to re-interrogate the exemplary value of the photograph and the notion of collateral knowledge in the context of digital photography, which has been viewed by some commentators as the site of a radical change in the semiotic make-up of the photograph. A hypothesis is offered, introducing the notion of “collateral doubt” as an attempt to account for a new form of indeterminacy in the common understanding of the technical operations of photography. A short post-scriptum notes that this hypothesis remains a conjecture and briefly reviews some recent developments in the discussion of Peirce’s views on photography.