Saussure’s refusal to adopt a biological perspective in linguistics and to consider the problem o... more Saussure’s refusal to adopt a biological perspective in linguistics and to consider the problem of the origin of language does not imply a struggle against the natural and biological aspects of language. Rather, it derives from the awareness that it is impossible to look at language “from the outside” if one wants (as Saussure considers obligatory for the linguist) to drop into the perspective of the speaking subjects. This tendency to consider the nature of language “from within” has a strong philosophical importance.
Introduction: Reflecting on Ferdinand de Saussure’s intellectual legacy in the modern context of ... more Introduction: Reflecting on Ferdinand de Saussure’s intellectual legacy in the modern context of the development of semiotics and history and epistemology of ideas
« Ce qui est clair, comme on l’a répété mille fois, c’est que l’homme sans le langage serait peut... more « Ce qui est clair, comme on l’a répété mille fois, c’est que l’homme sans le langage serait peut-être l’homme, mais qu’il ne serait pas un être se rapprochant même approximativement de l’homme que nous connaissons et que nous sommes. »Ferdinand de Saussure, Écrits de linguistique générale 1. Les deux côtés du sentiment linguistique Le renouveau récent des études sur la catégorie linguistique de sentiment, chez Saussure, mais aussi chez d’autres, a beaucoup insisté sur la description d’un tel..
Pensare in termini generali non è sufficiente. É necessario che qualcosa sia FATTO. (Charles S. P... more Pensare in termini generali non è sufficiente. É necessario che qualcosa sia FATTO. (Charles S. Peirce) In questo contributo vorrei sollevare la questione del rapporto tra linguaggio verbale e scrittura prendendo spunto dalle riflessioni-e dalla pratica-di Peirce sulla natura diagrammatico/operatoria della logica, e della scienza in generale (e anzitutto a partire dal suo sistema detto dei grafi esistenziali). Per questo, proporrò anzitutto due modelli generali sul rapporto tra scrittura e linguaggio (che chiamerò-con poca fantasia-'debole' e 'forte'): nel primo, la scrittura è totalmente dipendente dalla verbalità, di cui si pone semplicemente come registrazione e supporto mnemonico; nel secondo, essa assurge a maggiore autonomia in virtù delle proprie potenzialità peculiari, non condivise dalla lingua verbale. Su questo sfondo, presenterò la posizione di Peirce come una versione assolutamente radicale del modello "forte": dopo aver illustrato molto veloce...
Pour illustrer le rapport de Peirce avec l’ecriture, on presente ici les bases metaphysiques (ide... more Pour illustrer le rapport de Peirce avec l’ecriture, on presente ici les bases metaphysiques (idealisme objectif) et epistemologiques (primaute des mathematiques entre les sciences) de son rationalisme en philosophie du langage. On arrive ainsi a expliquer comment il peut inventer une forme d’ecriture ou notation (les graphes existentiels) qui n’a rien de langagier en tant qu’outil fondamental pour la pensee autocontrolee et scientifique.
In this text, Peirce’s notion of icon(ism) and Wittgenstein’s notion of ‘seeing as’ are compared ... more In this text, Peirce’s notion of icon(ism) and Wittgenstein’s notion of ‘seeing as’ are compared in order to gain a more general semiotic notion of resemblance (or rather “likeness”), with a wide domain, which is not limited to the phenomena of vision. Peirce’s perspective (namely, his categories) offers a good theoretical framework. Resemblance is not a dyadic phenomenon – an oriented relation “A resembles B” (and so A can be a sign of B) – but it rather belongs to firstness : possibility of being-like comes before every single empirical resemblance. This primacy of possibility does not imply an anti-realistic position (see Peirce’s “cotary propositions”: CP 5.180 ff.). We can translate Peirce’s stance in Wittgensteinian terms, by saying that there’s no seeing without ‘seeing as’, even if we don’t consider “aspects” of things if we are not compelled by “aspect-changing” (where bi-stability is the most striking phenomenon). This notion of resemblance/likeness is relevant for a wide ...
In the sixth chapter of Kant and the Platypus, Umberto Eco presents a me-ta-rebus as an illustrat... more In the sixth chapter of Kant and the Platypus, Umberto Eco presents a me-ta-rebus as an illustration of the dichotomy between alfa-and beta-mode in iconicity. As often in Eco's writings, this joke conveys a huge amount of sense, which I try to show in this text. Firstly I will recall the theoretical path leading Eco from the topic of encoding to that of iconism, noticing the role of rebus as one the most interesting kind of puzzle for semiotic inquiry. Then, I will briefly state a comparison with Wittgenstein, and namely with his conception of " seeing as " and " aspect-dawning " as developed in Remarks on the Philosophy of Psychology and elsewhere. Thirdly, I will notice the presence of a meta-aspect in other books by Eco: the meta-story of Alphonse Allais in the Appendix of The role of the Reader (showing the conditions of the interpretation of every story by its very failure as a story), and the meta-abduction as the necessary bet of our cognitive grasping on the external world. The emergence of this meta-level uncovers a dimension, an unspeakable ground of research , which retained the attention of both Peirce and Wittgenstein.
How to Make Our Signs Clear focuses on selected aspects of Peirce´s philosophy and semiotic, poss... more How to Make Our Signs Clear focuses on selected aspects of Peirce´s philosophy and semiotic, possible historical connections of his work and contemporary challenges to Peirce’s semiotic theories.
In his Geneva lectures in November 1891, Saussure stated a sort of “paradox of the will,” saying:... more In his Geneva lectures in November 1891, Saussure stated a sort of “paradox of the will,” saying: “Can linguistic facts be said to be the result of acts of will? That is the question. The current science of language gives a positive answer. However, one should add immediately that … the linguistic act, if I might call it that, is characterized as being the least reflected on, the least premeditated, as well as the most impersonal of all.” This issue – shared with Michel Bréal – remains important in Saussure’s thought until the end, and it is possible to read some of the most important pages of his works in the light of this paradox – a kind of free will problem in a linguistic fashion. Such a focus on the will opens a different perspective on semiology (“For the distinguishing characteristic of the sign – but the one that is least apparent at first sight
Saussure’s refusal to adopt a biological perspective in linguistics and to consider the problem o... more Saussure’s refusal to adopt a biological perspective in linguistics and to consider the problem of the origin of language does not imply a struggle against the natural and biological aspects of language. Rather, it derives from the awareness that it is impossible to look at language “from the outside” if one wants (as Saussure considers obligatory for the linguist) to drop into the perspective of the speaking subjects. This tendency to consider the nature of language “from within” has a strong philosophical importance.
Introduction: Reflecting on Ferdinand de Saussure’s intellectual legacy in the modern context of ... more Introduction: Reflecting on Ferdinand de Saussure’s intellectual legacy in the modern context of the development of semiotics and history and epistemology of ideas
« Ce qui est clair, comme on l’a répété mille fois, c’est que l’homme sans le langage serait peut... more « Ce qui est clair, comme on l’a répété mille fois, c’est que l’homme sans le langage serait peut-être l’homme, mais qu’il ne serait pas un être se rapprochant même approximativement de l’homme que nous connaissons et que nous sommes. »Ferdinand de Saussure, Écrits de linguistique générale 1. Les deux côtés du sentiment linguistique Le renouveau récent des études sur la catégorie linguistique de sentiment, chez Saussure, mais aussi chez d’autres, a beaucoup insisté sur la description d’un tel..
Pensare in termini generali non è sufficiente. É necessario che qualcosa sia FATTO. (Charles S. P... more Pensare in termini generali non è sufficiente. É necessario che qualcosa sia FATTO. (Charles S. Peirce) In questo contributo vorrei sollevare la questione del rapporto tra linguaggio verbale e scrittura prendendo spunto dalle riflessioni-e dalla pratica-di Peirce sulla natura diagrammatico/operatoria della logica, e della scienza in generale (e anzitutto a partire dal suo sistema detto dei grafi esistenziali). Per questo, proporrò anzitutto due modelli generali sul rapporto tra scrittura e linguaggio (che chiamerò-con poca fantasia-'debole' e 'forte'): nel primo, la scrittura è totalmente dipendente dalla verbalità, di cui si pone semplicemente come registrazione e supporto mnemonico; nel secondo, essa assurge a maggiore autonomia in virtù delle proprie potenzialità peculiari, non condivise dalla lingua verbale. Su questo sfondo, presenterò la posizione di Peirce come una versione assolutamente radicale del modello "forte": dopo aver illustrato molto veloce...
Pour illustrer le rapport de Peirce avec l’ecriture, on presente ici les bases metaphysiques (ide... more Pour illustrer le rapport de Peirce avec l’ecriture, on presente ici les bases metaphysiques (idealisme objectif) et epistemologiques (primaute des mathematiques entre les sciences) de son rationalisme en philosophie du langage. On arrive ainsi a expliquer comment il peut inventer une forme d’ecriture ou notation (les graphes existentiels) qui n’a rien de langagier en tant qu’outil fondamental pour la pensee autocontrolee et scientifique.
In this text, Peirce’s notion of icon(ism) and Wittgenstein’s notion of ‘seeing as’ are compared ... more In this text, Peirce’s notion of icon(ism) and Wittgenstein’s notion of ‘seeing as’ are compared in order to gain a more general semiotic notion of resemblance (or rather “likeness”), with a wide domain, which is not limited to the phenomena of vision. Peirce’s perspective (namely, his categories) offers a good theoretical framework. Resemblance is not a dyadic phenomenon – an oriented relation “A resembles B” (and so A can be a sign of B) – but it rather belongs to firstness : possibility of being-like comes before every single empirical resemblance. This primacy of possibility does not imply an anti-realistic position (see Peirce’s “cotary propositions”: CP 5.180 ff.). We can translate Peirce’s stance in Wittgensteinian terms, by saying that there’s no seeing without ‘seeing as’, even if we don’t consider “aspects” of things if we are not compelled by “aspect-changing” (where bi-stability is the most striking phenomenon). This notion of resemblance/likeness is relevant for a wide ...
In the sixth chapter of Kant and the Platypus, Umberto Eco presents a me-ta-rebus as an illustrat... more In the sixth chapter of Kant and the Platypus, Umberto Eco presents a me-ta-rebus as an illustration of the dichotomy between alfa-and beta-mode in iconicity. As often in Eco's writings, this joke conveys a huge amount of sense, which I try to show in this text. Firstly I will recall the theoretical path leading Eco from the topic of encoding to that of iconism, noticing the role of rebus as one the most interesting kind of puzzle for semiotic inquiry. Then, I will briefly state a comparison with Wittgenstein, and namely with his conception of " seeing as " and " aspect-dawning " as developed in Remarks on the Philosophy of Psychology and elsewhere. Thirdly, I will notice the presence of a meta-aspect in other books by Eco: the meta-story of Alphonse Allais in the Appendix of The role of the Reader (showing the conditions of the interpretation of every story by its very failure as a story), and the meta-abduction as the necessary bet of our cognitive grasping on the external world. The emergence of this meta-level uncovers a dimension, an unspeakable ground of research , which retained the attention of both Peirce and Wittgenstein.
How to Make Our Signs Clear focuses on selected aspects of Peirce´s philosophy and semiotic, poss... more How to Make Our Signs Clear focuses on selected aspects of Peirce´s philosophy and semiotic, possible historical connections of his work and contemporary challenges to Peirce’s semiotic theories.
In his Geneva lectures in November 1891, Saussure stated a sort of “paradox of the will,” saying:... more In his Geneva lectures in November 1891, Saussure stated a sort of “paradox of the will,” saying: “Can linguistic facts be said to be the result of acts of will? That is the question. The current science of language gives a positive answer. However, one should add immediately that … the linguistic act, if I might call it that, is characterized as being the least reflected on, the least premeditated, as well as the most impersonal of all.” This issue – shared with Michel Bréal – remains important in Saussure’s thought until the end, and it is possible to read some of the most important pages of his works in the light of this paradox – a kind of free will problem in a linguistic fashion. Such a focus on the will opens a different perspective on semiology (“For the distinguishing characteristic of the sign – but the one that is least apparent at first sight
Rivista Italiana di Filosofia del Linguaggio, Sep 30, 2014
La distinzione tra prassi e poiesi, come l’abbiamo ereditata dalla tradizione (e anzitutto da Ari... more La distinzione tra prassi e poiesi, come l’abbiamo ereditata dalla tradizione (e anzitutto da Aristotele), sembra applicarsi male alle istituzioni intese in senso saussuriano, e anzitutto alle lingue storico naturali, le quali sembrano mettere in atto una sorta di via di mezzo tra le due. Un rapido confronto tra la nozione di ‘regola’ in Wittgenstein e quella di ‘abito’ in Peirce puo aiutare a comprendere meglio questo punto (attraverso la definizione del primato dell’abito come oggetto scientifico), e a mostrare l’interesse delle posizioni come quella di Bourdieu, volte esplicitamente a superare la dicotomia, anche se talvolta tendono comunque a privilegiare uno dei due aspetti.
PowerPoint dell'intervento al seminario su "Forme del sociale" (GRiOS - CERC Robert Castel) Unica... more PowerPoint dell'intervento al seminario su "Forme del sociale" (GRiOS - CERC Robert Castel) Unical 29/9/2015
Pragmatist turn in cognitive science is now arising. The paper offer some hints for a view of lan... more Pragmatist turn in cognitive science is now arising. The paper offer some hints for a view of language, within a semiotic framework, using a comparison between Peirce's and Mead's perspectives as a tool to sketch a map of the issues.
Breve presentazione del ruolo del denaro come istituzione paradigmatica nell'ontologia sociale di... more Breve presentazione del ruolo del denaro come istituzione paradigmatica nell'ontologia sociale di J. R. Searle. (nell'ambito delle lezioni su "Cinema, denaro, società" per il corso del prof. M. W. Bruno)
Confronto tra due passi di Peirce e Wittgenstein relativi ad esperienze musicali, tra ripetizione... more Confronto tra due passi di Peirce e Wittgenstein relativi ad esperienze musicali, tra ripetizione e variazione, da cui risalta l'analogia tra i sentimenti suscitati dall'azione legata a credenza e al ripetersi - mai definitivo - di una frase musicale.
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