A Heritage for the Future: Hawthornesque Unfettering of the „Iron Men“

Author(s): Tihomir Živic / Language(s): English / Issue: 1-2/2014

With his Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne really wanted to unfetter the New English Puritan scions, or at least make them think what has morally degraded the “Iron Men” and destroyed a steadfast faith of the primogenitors. Hawthorne’s answer is that they have forgotten to express emotions. The Scarlet Letter thus responds to the hypothetical questions raised by the Puritan Community of the seventeenth-century New England; however, the novel is not directed against the positive traits of the Puritan New Englandism, e.g., discipline, home life, education, etc. Moreover, Hawthorne’s opus has a universal philosophical and moral sense, although its tone is usually mildened by his humanity and subtle humor. All of that enabled Hawthorne’s voice to be keenly heard in the twenty-first century as well.

A philosophical investigation in machine understanding. The case of implicit meaning

Author(s): Maria Wilkowska / Language(s): English / Issue: 12/2013

The question of machine thinking and understanding, once initiated by Alan Turing, has puzzled scholars from various disciplines. This paper aims at investigating some of the facets involved in the topic of machine language understanding with particular interest devoted to indirect meaning comprehension (more specifically, the implicature). So far as the subject under examination – the chatbot – manages to understand directly conveyed information, still much is to be done with respect to implicit data in which everyday messages (formulated in ordinary language) abound. This situation generates a number of not only hard-science questions but also, more importantly, given the viewpoint of this paper, it gives rise to a considerable amount of philosophically- oriented and frequently neglected issues and dilemmas too. This study is a brief investigation of exactly those phenomena.

A SEMIOTIC-AESTHETIC APPROACH TO THE ANALYSIS OF THE PRACTICE OF VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN HUNGARY

Author(s): Imre Gráfik / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2014

The spatial frame of the investigation is the Carpathian Basin and especially its Great Plain areas inhabited by Hungarian-speaking people; and the period it covers, which can be documented with buildings, is the 150–200 years from the second half of the 18th century to the first half of the 20th century. Examining all the elements of form which played a role in shaping the architectural image of the market town, it can be found that some of them are only barely, while others are very definitely expressions of the semiosis of market town architecture. The criteria of form are suitable for the simultaneous realisation of the following triadic relations: 1) the architectural functions archived through the technical-technological and structural solutions of building practice; 2) meanings related to the communicative nature of architecture; 3) representation of the architectural solutions of aesthetic content accepted by the taste of the community, artistic aesthetics (of architecture). As a final conclusion it can thus be said that a relative and absolute horizontal and vertical dynamics – realised with architectural signs and visually codable – operate in shaping the architectural image of the market town.

Against the Frame

Author(s): Wojciech Kalaga / Language(s): English / Issue: 1-2/2016

The paper explores theoretical foundations of the frame from two semiotic perspectives: that of the Saussurean dyadic sign dominant in the European tradition and that of the triadic sign of the Peircean/American descent. If – within the post- Saussurean agenda – meaning can be fairly easily “framed” and closed in the field of the signified, Peirce’s concepts of interpretant and infinite semiosis implement a mechanism which inherently obliterates the frame. Given this duality of approaches, the contention “No meaning without a frame” is thus true and paradoxical at the same time, and that paradox goes far beyond the Derridean concept of the parergon, which only belongs to both the inside and the outside. The frame, as construed in this paper, is not merely a material or imaginary, inactive partition, but is itself an operational agent which isolates and delineates a text ontologically as the other of the context, and simultaneously subverts that otherness by necessitating further semiosis and its own partial self-erasure. Regarding the interrelations amongst texts and between text and context, the frame is thus envisaged, and investigated in the paper, not so much as a factor of resistance or separation, but as an osmotic boundary facilitating rather than preventing a bi-directional flow of meanings. Putting this in epistemological terms, one may say that interpretation – paradoxically again –requires an enframing of its object, but at the same time it dissolves the stipulated frame and reaches beyond it.

Aksjologiczno-pragmatyczny obraz sumienia we współczesnej polszczyźnie

Author(s): Monika Kaczor / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 2 (9)/2013

Conscience is an element of the linguistic portrayal of the human person. The manner in which conscience is conceptualized in a language certifies that it is an intellectual judgment, moral imperative, moral reflection, a force to do good and a force restraining from evil. Specific linguistic connections certify what is meant by conscience in contemporary Polish. The contexts of occurrence of conscience allow for distinguishing two orientations, which are not only characteristic of Christian thought. They are: axiological orientation and pragmatic orientation. The first can be found in texts of a legislative nature, the second – points to the sociological and psychological motivations for using the concept in a specific context. This allows for a reconstruction of the image of conscience on the basis of specific mental operations that affect the formation of specific language constructs.

Altın Beşik Efsanesinin Yüce Ana Ekseninde Göstergebilimsel İncelenmesi

Author(s): Aynur Koçak,Serdar Gürçay / Language(s): Turkish / Issue: 3/2017

This study involves the semiotic interpretation of the high mother variant of the legend of the Golden Cradle which is a Crimean–Tatar tale. The peninsula located at the Northern Black Sea is called Crimea. Turks living there are called Tatars. Semiotics is uncovering the visible and unseen meanings within an expression or work and analyzing them through various methods. One of those models is Greimas’s Square of Opposition and it is used in this work. The word mother is a significant concept that can be seen in mythology, art, sociology and psychology at the same time. The source of its significance is the symbolic meanings it possesses which are existence (origination from the birth) also feeding and protecting. On the other hand, the Golden Cradle is the existential legend that the Crimean people projected on their future generations. This legend has various variants; the one related to high mother has its sentimental value improved as it feeds from the concept of mother. The first part of the work involves the simplified version of the story. The second part contains the interpretation of key events occurred in the course of tale also this part covers the key concepts. The third part is about the mother archetype. Mother Umay is covered in the fourth part. The importance of wolf symbolism in Turkish culture is presented in the fifth section. In the six and the last section the Greimas Square is given.

Animal cognition, speciesism, humanism: Reflections on the notion of “semiotic animal”

Author(s): Dario Martinelli / Language(s): English / Issue: 11/2016

The goal of this article is to assess the epistemological “suitability” of humanities to discuss the question of “humanity” and “human identity”, and their reiterated dialectic opposition to “animality”. The case study shall be the notion of “semiotic animal” (Deely 2005) within the framework of similar anthropocentric definitions aimed to establish a qualitative and dualistic distinction between the human being and the other animals. The motivations behind this differentiation – it is here maintained – appear to be more ideological than methodological, as illustrated by the long history of definitions of “humanity”, as instruments for qualitative distinction from the rest of the animals. On the contrary, the article defends the thesis of the (ethical, but not only) necessity to produce certain statements on a solid empirical (or at least scientifically-informed) basis. By analyzing notions like “semiotic animal”, the article seeks to expose some of their many scientific inaccuracies and to challenge their speculative construction.

Ar Galima Semiotiką Pradėti Nuo Aristotelio? Ženklo Aiškinimas, Grįstas Hilomorfine Esaties Teorija

Author(s): Algirdas Budrevicius / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 74/2013

Sign—the basic idea of semiotics—has been explored by great many philosophers since antiquity; nevertheless, as of now we do not have its ultimate and systematic theory. Peirce proposed an original and philosophically (ontologically) grounded conception of the sign. Could there be a different ontologically based conception of the sign? Could there be developed a different and ontologically based semiotics? The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the fundamentals of semiotics can be developed starting from the ideas of Aristotle. The idea of sign might be grounded on Aristotle’s account of Being and cognition considered in terms of form and matter. Various signs can be treated in terms of form and matter. Pictures, letters are signs of form. A wedding-ring is a material sign-symbol. Many signs can be treated in terms of similarity to the objects they signify: photographs, pictures, sculptures, diagrams, graphical charts, land maps, etc. It is quite natural to treat signs in terms of form and matter. The paper shows how the sign can be defined in terms of form and matter. A concrete model of sign as similarity of form (homomorphism) to the signified object is described. The structurally treated Cartesian system of coordinates is involved for articulation of the modes of Being. Intentionality as directedness of consciousness of the sign perceiver toward the signified object is used in the account of sign.

Arti si fakt semiologjik

Author(s): Jan Mukarovský / Language(s): Albanian / Issue: 1/2013

Vepra artistike nuk mund të identifikohet me një gjendje shpirtërore të krijuesit të saj dhe as me cilat do qoftë gjendje shpirtërore që i shkaktonte subjekti pranues – ashtu si donte ta shpjegonte këtë estetika psikologjiste

Asmenybių Ir Būtie S Ženklų Įprasminimas Stasio Žirgulio Skulptūroje

Author(s): Raimonda Simanaitiene / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 85/2015

In the article, the author analyses the most important memorial-like works and sculptures of well-known Lithuanian people by the distinguished Lithuanian sculptor, Stasys Žirgulis. Also, the monumental and small sculptures, full of strong associative and symbolic themes loved by the artist, are discussed here. The plot peculiarities and their expressions in plastics are presented. The artist’s extraordinary knowledge of materials is emphasized as well. S. Žirgulis’s creative development is summarized by highlighting the diversity of the artist’s works that predisposed a significant parting of two stylistic tendencies in the sculptor’s oeuvre.

Bajoro Įvaizdis XIX A. Lietuvos Dailėje

Author(s): Aušrine Kulvietyte-Cemnolonske / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 86/2016

This article analyzes the representation of noblemen in the nineteenth century Lithuanian art. While this time is not the flowering of this social class, the visual language on this theme is the most impressive. Questions discussed are: what was the evolution of portraits of noblemen, what were the visual signs of noblemen’s identity, what peculiarities of noblemen’s lifestyle are shown in genre painting, how much does genre painting represent the reality of the nineteenth century and provide scenes that show the values of the mentality of noblemen? Another one important line of the research is to reveal the historical discourse of the noblemen’s situation in the nineteenth century and to show its interplay with visual artistic language. The research has shown that in the thematic level of the pictures, the political inactivity and stagnation of noblemen is revealed. This inactivity has historical causality. In the most of the scenes, the various forms of their leisure is represented, while a politically active life, especially their activities in sejmiki, is performed only in a historical past. Visually, another historical reality is given expression: the mental transformation of noblemen from their exceptional inborn rights to an emphasis of the importance of education and intelligence in this sense. These signs are noticeable in portraits with exceptional marks, such as kontusz suit and coat of arms, to the intimate portraits with only individual features of the person and not with any reference to social class. Also, this change is artistically visible in portraits depicting noblemen at leisure with a book in their hands.

Bajoro Įvaizdis XIX A. Lietuvos Dailėje

Author(s): Aušrine Kulvietyte-Cemnolonske / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 85/2015

This article analyzes the representation of noblemen in the nineteenth century Lithuanian art. While this time is not the flowering of this social class, the visual language on this theme is the most impressive. Questions discussed are: what was the evolution of portraits of noblemen, what were the visual signs of noblemen’s identity, what peculiarities of noblemen’s lifestyle are shown in genre painting, how much does genre painting represent the reality of the nineteenth century and provide scenes that show the values of the mentality of noblemen? Another one important line of the research is to reveal the historical discourse of the noblemen’s situation in the nineteenth century and to show its interplay with visual artistic language. The research has shown that in the thematic level of the pictures, the political inactivity and stagnation of noblemen is revealed. This inactivity has historical causality. In the most of the scenes, the various forms of their leisure is represented, while a politically active life, especially their activities in sejmiki, is performed only in a historical past. Visually, another historical reality is given expression: the mental transformation of noblemen from their exceptional inborn rights to an emphasis of the importance of education and intelligence in this sense. These signs are noticeable in portraits with exceptional marks, such as kontusz suit and coat of arms, to the intimate portraits with only individual features of the person and not with any reference to social class. Also, this change is artistically visible in portraits depicting noblemen at leisure with a book in their hands.

Between emotion, imagination and cognition: Play as a hybrid neuro-evolutionary concept in bridging Saussure, Hegel and Alexander von Humboldt

Author(s): Jui-Pi Chien / Language(s): English / Issue: 2-3/2015

This study seeks to discover hidden links between Saussure’s Third Course of Lectures on General Linguistics, Hegel’s Introductory Lectures on Aesthetics / Philosophy of Mind and Alexander von Humboldt’s Cosmos. To begin with, the notion of play is employed to examine the interplay between our emotion, imagination and cognition, and to examine how such a composite of faculties serves to unify conceptualizations of communicationmodelling systems, philosophical hermeneutics and moral psychology in our times. At discovering a certain future-oriented and symbiotic scheme of time implied in these theories, the inquiry moves on to engage with certain perspectives on the evolution of our verbal and nonverbal capacities.

Bibliniai Įvaizdžiai Šiuolaikiniame Lietuvos Teatre: Imitacija, Transformacija, Deformacija

Author(s): Asta Valiukaite / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 64/2010

The Bible has always had a great influence on the art of Western civilization. Biblical images and motifs are often used in literary works and theatrical events. This article covers three possible exemplars of the relation between Biblical images and text of the performance which function in the contemporary Lithuanian theatre (1990–2009). These exemplars are: imitation, transformation, and deformation. The imitational relation is revealed in the staging of E. Nekrošius ,,Canto of Cantos“; the transformational relation is clear in the play „Lord, smile on us“ of R. Tuminas; and the play „P.S. Case O.K.“ of O. Koršunovas represents the deformational relation. The ideal biblical images are the most common in these performances. When being imitated, they correspond with the message of the Revelation. When one transforms them, their dramatic side is accentuated. In the case of deformation, they are taken out of the context of Revelation and become just a means of expression of the main ideas of the performance.

Blocking evil infinites: A note on a note on a Peircean strategy

Author(s): Frederik Stjernfelt / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2015

This brief note considers Peirce’s strategy of terminating potentially evil infinities – concerning relations, continuous predicates, leading principles, habits – by appeal to the Nota Notae principle.

Bóg i państwo

Author(s): Hans Kelsen / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 59/2014

Tekst Bóg i państwo został opublikowany w 1923 roku. Kelsen analizuje w nim analogię między pojęciem Boga i pojęciem państwa, zarówno z perspektywy psychologicznej, jak i, jak ją nazywa, teoriopoznawczej. Twierdzi, że tym, co łączy doświadczenie religijne i społeczne (państwo jest dla niego najdoskonalszą grupą społeczną) jest taki sam sposób przeżywania podległości wobec autorytetu, jak i powiązania i związków w ramach wspólnoty. Ponadto stara się wykazać podobieństwo struktury pojęcia Boga wypracowanego w teologii i pojęcia państwa znanego z teorii prawa i państwa. Kelsen podkreśla, że oba pojęcia ulegają hipostazie. W teorii państwa prowadzi to m.in. to dualizmu państwa i prawa, będącego źródłem nadużyć politycznych. Tekst zamyka projekt opracowania czystej teorii prawa, na gruncie której zniesiony zostaje ów dualizm, dzięki przyjęciu logicznego postulatu jedności państwa i prawa

C. S. Peirce on the dynamic object of a sign: From ontology to semiotics and back

Author(s): Helmut Pape / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2015

That reality, and in particular the (dynamic) objects of signs, are independent of our thoughts or other representations is a crucial thesis of Peirce’s realism. On the other hand, his semiotics implies the claim that all reality and all real objects are real for us only because of the signs we use. Do these two claims contradict, even exclude, eachother? I will argue that both Peirce’s metaphysics and his semiotics provide a natural via media: a structural account of the openness of processes, featuring transitive relations, connects process ontology implicit in his evolutionary metaphysics and the relational, quasi-inferential features embodied in interpretational sequences of signs. It is shown that Peirce’s notion of a sign, its normative role and his account of the directional force of objects implies a sort of logical causality that supports the unity of objects. In this way sign sequences are able to relate flexibly sign use with contextually specified independent objects. That is to say, relational properties of object-oriented chains of interpretations provide sign users with a flexible, fallibilistic instrument able to capture by contingent identity relations (teridentity) of the identity of objects in changing situations.

Co i jak poznajemy przez obrazy – edycja trzecia

Author(s): Krzysztof Rojek / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 19/2016

Communication, Language and Power: Reproduction of Christianity as an Imagined Community

Author(s): Maruša Pušnik / Language(s): English / Issue: 15/2017

Conotaţiile locului

Author(s): Delia Prisecaru / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1/2017

When the phenomenological approach began to be studied by architects, due to its potential to bring back the essence of existence through direct contact with the world, the design process itself began to change. The way the perception of space once built is intercorrelated directly with the capture of its essence. Such a spot will instantly evolve into a place that will order and organize the space around it by its own presence. The amplitude of successive experiences in such a space, which we can call place, precisely because of these experiences, can be animated through formal searches, experiments with a range of materials, light and color that are no longer distinguishable from the existing context. The perception of space is interpreted as a product of experience, viewed as innate capacity, or as having a purely sensory nature, or, finally, as having a cognitive-intellectual nature. Cartesian coordinates become insufficient in trying to define a place, its limits being both uncertain and unclear; summing up the experiences, the sensations it induces, the feelings and sensations caused or exerted in that space. Thus, the connotations that a place can have for each of us become seemingly infinite but dazzling in precision, the compatible personalities often being attracted by similar places. The influence of the building, or its absence, as well as the materiality present in such places, on their connotations is the theme of this paper.