Two basic analyses of the historiography of semiotics: M. Foucault’s comparative semiology and J.N. Deely’s semiotic realism

Semiotica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (233) ◽  
pp. 159-177
Author(s):  
Martin Švantner
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Contemporary Research ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sign Relations

AbstractIn this study I compare the work of two scholars who are important for contemporary research into the history of semiotics. The main goal of the study is to describe specific rhetorical/figurative forms and structures of persuasion between two epistemological positions that determine various possibilities in the historiography of semiotics. The main question is this: how do we understand two important metatheoretical forms of descriptions in the historiography of semiotics or the history of sign relations? The first perspective is semiology and its corollary, “structuralism,” as presented in Michel Foucault’s The Order of Things. This perspective prefers to consider history as a set of ruptures (i). The second position explores the possibility of the historical development of semiotic consciousness as presented in the works of John N. Deely (ii). The main aim of this study lies in the exploration of these two different epistemological bases – divergent bases for developing specific understandings of interconnections that hold between between semiotics, semiosis and historical processes. A goal of this paper is to demonstrate the limits and advantages of these two paradigmatic positions. The positions in question are “meta-theoretical” in the following senses such that: (i) the historical episteme is taken to be an a priori determinant of all sign-operations in a given era and is also the semiologic grid through which Foucault approaches every mode of scientific knowledge (from “science” to “economy” and beyond); (ii) the quasi-Hegelian development of semiotic consciousness based on a conception of the sign considered as a triadic ontological relation. The latter is Deely’s guiding meta-principle, through which the history of semiotics can be articulated, examined and evaluated.

A Priori in the Philosophy of Science

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 60-74
Author(s):  
Tatiana D. Sokolova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Technical Difficulty ◽  
Scientific Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Model Approach

The article is devoted to the analysis of research approaches and attitudes to the study of the a priori in the philosophy of science. In the first part, I outline the basic premises of this study: (a) scientific knowledge as the highest manifestation of rationality; (b) the normative nature of scientific knowledge. In the second part, I turn to the difference in the subject of philosophical research on the history of science – the history of science as a “history of facts” vs the history of science as a history of scientific thought. The third part discusses the main theoretical and technical difficulty associated with changing the subject of research – the possibility of a transition from historical fact to “scientific thought at the time of its birth” (in Helene Metzger terminology). The forth part is devoted to the analysis of the “model approach” (Arianna Betti, Hein van den Berg) in philosophy as a possible way to overcome this difficulty and includes both theoretical and technical aspects of the future direction of research. In conclusion, consequences are drawn about the possibility of using the “model approach” for reconstruction a priori in the history of science as “constitutive elements of scientific knowledge” (David Stump).

THE FRENCH FOUNDATIONS OF HUTTON’S THEORY OF THE EARTH, PART ONE: HUTTON AS A STUDENT OF GUILLAUME-FRANÇOIS ROUELLE

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
GREGORY F. W. TODD
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Chemistry Teachers ◽  
River Transport ◽  
The Earth ◽  
History Of Geology ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Standing Problem

ABSTRACT This contribution, in two parts, addresses a long-standing problem in the history of geology: Was the geological theory of James Hutton derived inductively from observations and scientific knowledge, or was it derived a priori as a speculative system? Hutton’s own writings do little to clarify the question, and the conflict in interpretations has remained at an impasse. This contribution proposes to resolve that conflict by focusing on the two years Hutton spent as a young man studying chemistry in Paris. I argue that Hutton studied with one of the great chemistry teachers of the eighteenth century, Guillaume-François Rouelle, and that Rouelle’s teachings provided the foundations of Hutton’s geological theory. Part One of this contribution reviews Hutton’s early studies in chemistry, and presents evidence to show that Hutton continued his chemistry studies with Rouelle in Paris from 1747 to 1749. Part One describes as well the geological content of Rouelle’s lectures, as derived from notes taken by his students, with focus on Rouelle’s methodology, his ideas on the origins of coal and limestone, and his observations on erosion and river transport. This Part concludes that Rouelle should be regarded as an important figure in the history of geology, not only in the francophone tradition, but, through Hutton, in the anglophone tradition as well. A detailed analysis of the influence of Rouelle’s teachings on Hutton’s Theory of the Earth (1788), and the development of Hutton’s overall theory, is the subject of Part Two.

The Conquest of Scurvy

1963 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. C. Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Method ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Intellectual Climate

Scurvy is now almost a forgotten disease, but it would be difficult to exaggerate its importance in the history of a maritime nation such as our own. To the historian of medical science it is equally interesting, because the various and extraordinary variety of theories concerning it reflect in themselves the intellectual climate of the past. By their repeated refusal to accept the conclusions of an experimental method, by their pedantic reliance on a priori reasoning or antiquated prejudices, the medical authorities of all countries delayed the conquest of this terrible disease long after a cure had been established by men who had practical experience of it. If anyone imagines that even in scientific knowledge progress is inevitable, let him remember that scurvy continued to be the curse of the sea and the hardship of explorers so recent as Scott and Shackleton a hundred years after it had been eliminated in the fleets of Nelson's day.

scholarly journals On the 250 th anniversary of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 608-620
Author(s):  
Klaus Vieweg ◽  
◽  
Anton A. Ivanenko ◽  
Andrei N. Muravev ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Science Of Logic ◽  
History Of ◽  
Spiritual Phenomena ◽  
Difficult Part

Two and a half centuries since the birth of Hegel give reason to try to understand why he, like other great philosophers irrelevant of how many centuries ago they were born, should not be forgotten. The first part of the article deals with the content of the central and most difficult part of Hegel’s Science of logic — the doctrine of essence. This particular work illustrates that its creator successfully passed between the Scylla of realism, which insists on the immediacy of knowledge, and the Charybdis of constructivism, which advocates its mediation. Hegel curbs the claims of mediation and immediacy to exclusivity revealing their concrete identity. The second part of the article explores the perspective of the theoretical and scientific knowledge of the spirit, discovered by Hegel, which makes it possible to avoid the extremes of historicism and essentialism that prevailed after Hegel in the sciences of the spirit. Historicism dissolves the unified essence of various spiritual phenomena in the flow of history, which it considers a purposeless element of change. Essentialism asserts the existence of this essence, but leaves it undefined. Hegel logically determines what is historical in the existence of the spirit, an what transcends history as its absolute goal. The last part of the article indicates the reason for the obvious underestimation of Hegel’s achievements by figures of modern philosophical culture. The place of the Hegelian system in the historical development of philosophy and its actual significance for modernity as a model of philosophical knowledge of truth, nature and spirit, without which the history of philosophy is not complete and cannot be understood as a whole, is determined.

European Integration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann P. Arnason
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
External Conditions ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Totalitarian Regimes ◽  
The Eu

Different understandings of European integration, its background and present problems are represented in this book, but they share an emphasis on historical processes, geopolitical dynamics and regional diversity. The introduction surveys approaches to the question of European continuities and discontinuities, before going on to an overview of chapters. The following three contributions deal with long-term perspectives, including the question of Europe as a civilisational entity, the civilisational crisis of the twentieth century, marked by wars and totalitarian regimes, and a comparison of the European Union with the Habsburg Empire, with particular emphasis on similar crisis symptoms. The next three chapters discuss various aspects and contexts of the present crisis. Reflections on the Brexit controversy throw light on a longer history of intra-Union rivalry, enduring disputes and changing external conditions. An analysis of efforts to strengthen the EU’s legal and constitutional framework, and of resistances to them, highlights the unfinished agenda of integration. A closer look at the much-disputed Islamic presence in Europe suggests that an interdependent radicalization of Islamism and the European extreme right is a major factor in current political developments. Three concluding chapters adopt specific regional perspectives. Central and Eastern European countries, especially Poland, are following a path that leads to conflicts with dominant orientations of the EU, but this also raises questions about Europe’s future. The record of Scandinavian policies in relation to Europe exemplifies more general problems faced by peripheral regions. Finally, growing dissonances and divergences within the EU may strengthen the case for Eurasian perspectives.

CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL IDEA OF THE “SOCIAL STATE” IN THE HISTORY OF LEGAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Fedorov
Keyword(s):  
Political Thought ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
State Structure ◽  
Thomas More ◽  
Social State ◽  
Classical Liberal ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

The article is devoted to the problem of the social state as one of the fundamental constitutional principles of the state structure of modern developed countries. The course of historical development of philosophical and legal thought on this problem is considered. The idea of a close connection between the concept of the social state and the ideas of utopian socialism of Thomas More and Henri Saint-Simon is put forward. Liberals also made a significant contribution to the development of the idea of the social state, they argued that the ratio of equality and freedom is a key problem for the classical liberal doctrine. It is concluded that the emergence of the theory of the social state for objective reasons was inevitable, since it is due to the historical development of society.

ACTION ON MATTER: THE HISTORY OF THE UNIQUELY AFRICAN TAMPER AND CONCAVE ANVIL POT-FORMING TECHNIQUE

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Sterner ◽  
Nicholas David
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Weight Ratio ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Efficient Production ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Culture History ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Diffusion

The publication, largely by ethnoarchaeologists, of new data on the tamper and concave anvil technique of pot-forming (TCA) permits a reassessment of this uniquely African technique, its toolkit, and its culture history. A survey, inspired by the technologie culturelle school, of its varied expressions in the southern Saharan, Sahelian and northern Sudan zones from Mali to Sudan and extending north into Egypt emphasises the potential of the technique for the efficient production of spherical water jars of high volume to weight ratio, much appreciated in arid environments. The technique is demanding and therefore practised for the most part by specialists. The origins and diffusion of the technique are assessed in the light of the ethnological, archaeological, linguistic, and historical evidence, and a four stage historical development is sketched.

Naturalism and the Grounding Metaphor

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjan Chakravartty
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Scientific Ontology

This chapter develops the notion of degrees of metaphysical inference, giving content to a number of widely used but only vaguely specified metaphors regarding what it could mean to “naturalize” metaphysical inferences by “grounding” them in scientific knowledge, and what it could mean to “derive” ontological conclusions from scientific work, or use such work as a “constraint” on ontological theorizing. It examines the prospects of demarcating scientific ontology from non-scientific, philosophical ontologically, the nature of a priori presuppositions and inferences and their possible roles in this demarcation, and the idea of naturalizing metaphysical inferences. In conclusion, it considers whether there is, in fact, anything like an objective distinction to be made between genuinely theorizing and merely speculating about ontology.

Subaltern Migrations and the State

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Zehmisch
Keyword(s):  
Final Section ◽  
Social Engineering ◽  
The State ◽  
Penal Colony ◽  
The Third ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Subaltern Agency ◽  
History Of ◽  
Media Reports

This chapter considers the history of Andaman migration from the institutionalization of a penal colony in 1858 to the present. It unpicks the dynamic relationship between the state and the population by investigating genealogies of power and knowledge. Apart from elaborating on subaltern domination, the chapter also reconstructs subaltern agency in historical processes by re-reading scholarly literature, administrative publications, and media reports as well as by interpreting fieldwork data and oral history accounts. The first part of the chapter defines migration and shows how it applies to the Andamans. The second part concentrates on colonial policies of subaltern population transfer to the islands and on the effects of social engineering processes. The third part analyses the institutionalization of the postcolonial regime in the islands and elaborates on the various types of migration since Indian Independence. The final section considers contemporary political negotiations of migration in the islands.

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