Luc Steels, a 21st century scientist, explains how a symbol is a mark used to represent objects in reality. The relationship of symbols to what they stood for is completely arbitrary. Symbols may or may not share a direct relation with what they represent. The association is defined by systematic relationships between the symbols itself. According to Steels, a symbol is grounded when there is a method that assigns the object to a concept associated with the symbol itself.
Steels introduces the idea of a semiotic network - the complex multi-link relationship between objects, symbols, concepts and their methods. For example, when a speaker refers to a particular object, say, an apple, he conveys his intention to the receiver via the word symbol – “a-p-p-l-e”. Subsequently, the receiver uses his method to translate the symbol “a-p-p-l-e” into his own mental interpretation(concept), before identifying the apple in