Philosophers who study the way that humans process meaning posit that people make sense of the world by interpreting signs. For instance, the red coil of a stove is a sign that communicates several messages, such as purpose of the coil and the danger it poses. Different branches of philosophy study this type of meaning-making from various angles. Epistemologists seek answers to how humans gain and create knowledge. Phenomenologists attempt to construct the nature of conscious experience. Meanwhile, semioticians—those who study semiotics—focus on the study of signs and symbols and how they connect to meaning. In the case of the red coil, semioticians investigate how humans interpret it and how it comes to symbolize danger and heat, highlighting the relationship between external objects and their meanings.

The term “semiotics” comes from the Greek word meaning “observant of signs.” Ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle in Rhetoric and Plato in Phaedrus noted that humans develop an understanding of the world through the interpretation of signs; they also noted that humans use these signs not only to convey meaning but also to manipulate it, influencing others and sometimes obscuring the truth.