A symbol is a sign that represents its object by convention, habit, or rule. Most words are symbols: “tree” represents trees not because the word resembles a tree (icon) or because trees caused the word (index), but because English speakers have adopted the convention. Mathematical notation, traffic signs, flags, and legal codes are all symbolic systems.
Peirce understood the symbol’s connection to its object as mediated by an interpretant — the convention that links them is itself a sign (a “legisign,” or sign of law) that must be learned and shared. Symbols therefore depend on a community of interpreters who maintain the convention through repeated use. This is why Peirce connected symbols to habit: the meaning of a symbol is stabilized by the habitual interpretations of the community that uses it (Peirce, 1931–1958).
Because symbols are conventional, they are the most flexible type of sign — new symbols can be created, old ones can be repurposed, and the same symbol can carry different meanings in different communities. But this flexibility also makes them the most dependent on shared context and the most vulnerable to misinterpretation across communities (Short, 2007).
Related terms
- icon — a sign that resembles its object
- index — a sign connected to its object by causal relation
- sign — the triadic relation in which symbol is one type
Source: Peirce, Charles Sanders. Collected Papers. Harvard University Press, 1931–1958. See also Short, T. L. Peirce’s Theory of Signs. Cambridge University Press, 2007.