Fig 1 M King “A Rubbish Point of
View” 2012 Nature photographed from a cultural perspective
Re-connecting
with nature is a term de Botton posits when considering education in his book Religion for Atheists. In order to determine how we
can re-connect with nature we have to understand how we became disconnected. If
we look at the structure of language it could be said that humans and nature
were never connected because one is believed to be the binary opposite to the
other.
Nature ------------------------------ Culture
(Non-human) (Human)
What does this mean? Is the
binary opposite to nature culture? What
is nature or culture? To
understand such concepts we have to go back to glean an understanding of
postmodern theory in relation to linguistics.
Prior to the 20th century thinkers focused their attentions on analysing ideas in the mind in the quest to understand thinking. Since then thinkers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), and Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) among others had shifted their attention away from ideas in the mind towards the language in which thinking is expressed. Whilst many have questioned, “What permits meaningful thinking?” agreement has been accepted, albeit in different ways that the answer points towards, the structure of language.
Prior to the 20th century thinkers focused their attentions on analysing ideas in the mind in the quest to understand thinking. Since then thinkers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), and Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) among others had shifted their attention away from ideas in the mind towards the language in which thinking is expressed. Whilst many have questioned, “What permits meaningful thinking?” agreement has been accepted, albeit in different ways that the answer points towards, the structure of language.
THE STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE ALLOWS MEANINGFUL THINKING
Linguistics used to be
concerned with the historical origins of language in order to reveal
meaning. Contrary to this view, the
founder of structuralism, Swiss professor of linguistics, Ferdinand de Saussure
(1857-1913) regarded the meaning of language not to be held in its historical
origins but as the function of a system. In structuralism universal
structures were believed to underlie all human activity.
LANGUAGE IS THE FUNCTION OF A SYSTEM
The Structure of Language – Structuralism
Fig 2 M King "Dog"
For Saussure linguistic
meanings (whether past, present or future) are effectively made possible through
a very small set of sounds or phonemes. A phoneme is the smallest unit in the
sound system that show contrasts in meaning. Cat, for instance has 3 sounds or phonemes
c, a, t. These phonemes differ ever so slightly from the sounds that make up
words such as mat, cot, and cap. Combined, these other sounds generate
different meanings which enable us to produce extended dialogues when combined grammatically
and syntactically in a sentence. The code or system of language allows us to
express personal thought. Each unit is defined by what
it is not. We can define heaven because we know hell.
Do we define nature because we know culture?
Do we define nature because we know culture?
THE SYSTEM OF LANGUAGE ALLOWS US TO EXPRESS PERSONAL
THOUGHT
Sounds (phonemes) such as c,
a, t are distinctive units that when
combined form words. Each sound has no direct value.
Words (monemes) which are significant units hold its own value
(meaning).
Signification
Saussure proposed that
language is made up of a signifier and that which is signified. The combination
of both produces a sign.
Image of cat (sign)
Signifier cat --------------------------- Signified
cat
Fig 3 M King "Dog"
Signifier – the word or
acoustic image, is that which carries meaning - cat
Signified – the concept, the
meaning, the thing indicated, is that to which the word cat refers
Sign - the word cat (the
signifier) together with the concept of cat (signified) make up a sign - cat
Signification is the process
that binds the signifier and the signified together. The result of which is the
sign, eg cat.
Signification is the
association of sound and what it represents and is the outcome of collective
learning. The choice of sound to represent cat is not imposed upon us by
meaning itself. A cat, the animal does not determine the sound cat. The sound
for cat is different in different languages.
I’m thinking that Saussure may
have had it wrong.
Signified
Signifier-------------------------------Sign (What we see)
When we are learning we are
told and so hear the word cat and our teacher, for instance our mother points
to a cat and so we associate the sound cat to the image of a cat whether this
is a picture or an actual cat. It is only later that we learn to understand the
concept, the meaning of a cat and say the dangers associated with it whether
this be pulling its tail and getting scratched or trying to stroke a lion.
Maybe it’s the sign that came
first, followed by the signifier and signified?
I do find the thought of Ig
and Og sat around the fire in their cave remonstrating over the acoustic image
of cat or dog with the concept of cat being 1. a small domesticated mammal with
thick soft fur and whiskers 2. a wild animal related to the cat, such as lynx,
lion, or tiger and the sign for cat quite amusing.
Binary Opposition
For Saussure language is a
sign system that functions by an operational code of binary oppositions. To the
structuralists a binary opposition is a pair of opposites that are believed to
form and organize human thought and culture.
Whilst some binary
oppositions are straightforward such as raw and cooked others create a sense of
hierarchy, for instance man and woman or black and white. Black conveys a sense
of evil or darkness whilst white conveys an idea of purity and goodness. The binary
opposition rational and emotional also reinforces the notion of hierarchy; the
rational often associated with men is usually more favourable over the
emotional which can be seen as weak and is often associated with women.
LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS THROUGH BINARY OPPOSITIONS
Signifier and signified is a
binary opposition.
(Image of cat)
Signifier (cat) --------------------------- Signified (cat)
As Saussure states each unit
is defined by what it is not and so by this definition the signifier, the word
cat is defined by what it is not, the concept, or meaning, cat. What it is not
is a dog. Do we know the word cat because we know the concept cat? I would
argue no even though we can understand concepts such as heaven because we know
hell.
I’m not sure that the signified
is the binary opposition to the signifier. We know the word or acoustic image
for cat not through the signified but through the learnt sign.
Another binary opposition that is deemed fundamental to the system of language governing how signs relate to each other is syntagm and paradigm.
SYNTAGM AND PARADIGM GOVERN HOW SIGNS RELATE TO EACH
OTHER
Syntagm (combination) -------------------Paradigm
(substitution)
A syntagmatic series
(contiguity or combination) is the linear relationships between the linguistic
elements in a sentence. Signs occur in sequence or parallel operating together
to create meaning.
The cat sat on the mat.
Language operates in a
sequential manner which means that linguistic signs have syntagmatic
relationships. For example, the letters in a word have a syntagmatic
relationship with one another, as do the words in a sentence or the objects in
a picture. The syntagmatic relationship of a picture is interesting because the objects in a picture are not
sequentially set out as in a sentence.
Syntagmatic relationships are
often governed by strict rules, such as spelling and grammar. They can also
have less clear relationships, such as those of fashion and social meaning.
(What does this mean? Does this refer to the fashion of how a word is spelt?)
Paradigmatic series
(selection or substitution) is the relationship between elements within a
sentence and other elements which are syntactically interchangeable.
The cat sat on the mat
A dog led in this bed
That fish swam by a
rock
Fig 4 M King "Dog"
Items on a menu have
paradigmatic relationship when they are in the same group (starters, main
course, and sweets) as a choice or a selection is made. Courses have a
sequential (syntagmatic) relationship, as they are combined and so an item from
the starter menu does not have a paradigmatic relationship with an item from the
sweet menu.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
De Botton A, 2012 Religion For Atheists Penguin London: UK
Appignanesi R et al Introducing
Postmodernism: A Graphic Guide to
Cutting-Edge Thinking Cambridge: UK
ONLINE
http://changingminds.org/explanations/critical_theory/concepts/syntagm_paradigm.htm
Image Copyright Mark King
Interesting concept Mark regarding the sign following the signified and signifier - got me thinking now.
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