Journal Name: Semiotica Issue: Ahead of print.

Pragmatism is American philosophical tradition which grants a central importance to change. It opposes conceptions which presuppose stability of the world and stability of the meaning of human works. This opposition is particularly important in the context of aesthetics. After having considered the most general forms of change and their importance in art we reach the conclusion that pragmatism can account for them but leaves out what we call changes of economy. The term economy here does not designate monetary economy (...) but the way in which the elements of a universe (a cosmos) are organized. Thus one can speak of the economy of the divine creation. (shrink)