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____________________________________________________________________ The "Zeitschrift für
Semiotik"
_________________________________ Introduction Uwe Dathe Paolo Spinicci Venanzio Raspa Wolfgang Mack Enclosure Signs in language and thought according to Ockham, Lambert and Bolzano Ursula Neemann, University of Bochum Summary. According to B. Bolzano, signs are real objects or processes which are grasped
not as something in themselves but in reference to other objects. The meanings of verbal
signs are shared by the users of a language as their uniform semantical basis. It is a
realm of ideas and sentences, in other words, what is known as the intension of verbal
signs. Extension, the reference to extra-mental objects, is possible only on the basis of
intensions. These considerations are used to clarify Bolzano's use of the expressions
"meaning" and "reference". The emphasis on the intensional aspect
leads to epistemological problems which are discussed with reference to the theories of
signs suggested by W. of Ockham, J. H. Lambert, and G. W. Leibniz. Central in this
discussion is the question whether what is signified by verbal signs is a copy of the
extra-mental world of objects or whether the sign's function consists in a reference to
the extra-mental world without being similar to it. Rudolf Eucken as a language critic and sign philosopher Uwe Dathe, University of Jena Summary. In the 19th century, non-formal language analysis was practiced not only by
the philosophers O. F. Gruppe, G. Gerber, M. Müller, L. Noiré, and G. Runze, whose works
were recently discussed by H. J. Cloeren and S. J. Schmidt. This philosophical tradition
also included R. Eucken. In his studies on the history of concepts and technical terms as
well as on the function of metaphors for philosophical thinking, Eucken developed original
views on the interdependence of language and thinking and on the meaning of concepts and
technical terms. He was one of the most astute critics of philosophical language for his
time and he advanced important ideas for the reform of philosophical terminology. Eucken's
philosophical and semiotic reflections influenced G. Runze, G. Frege, F. Tönnies,
and K. Jaspers. Phenomenological objectivity and language pragmatics. The fundamental concepts of Anton Marty's view of language Paolo Spinicci, University of Milan Summary. According to Marty, linguistic form depends both on the psychological nature
of meaning and on the real conditions for human communication. Marty believed that a
universal and general grammar has to fulfill two different tasks: firstly, it has to bring
to light the phenomenological basic structures of our inner (and outer) experience which
are expressed by every human language. Secondly, it has to attempt to explain some of the
universal language structures resulting from the basic properties of speaking as
communicative action. This paper elaborates the latter topic in particular, giving an
account of Marty's pragmatic foundation of language. Signs, shadow-like expression and fictional objects: Meinong's observations of a semiotics of fiction Venanzio Raspa, University of Urbino Summary. The aim of this contribution is to apply Meinong's theory of signs to an
analysis of literature. The focus lies on words and sentences which, according to Meinong,
express fantasy experiences when they occur in literature. He distinguishes between
"serious" and "shadow-like" fantasy experiences. The serious ones can
be detached from their fictional context, i.e., they are also understandable in other
contexts. The shadow-like fantasies, however, are dependent on their fictional contexts.
This implies that shadow-like experiences are less specific than serious ones. The objects
presented by these experiences or expressions are identical with the meanings of the signs
involved. The specificity of the experience is related to the completeness of its object;
consequently, objects involved in shadow-like experiences are incomplete. In addition to
being incomplete, fictional objects can be defined as non-existent objects of a
higher-order, produced by human fantasy. They come into the world through linguistic
expression and are tied to the context(s) in which the fantasy has placed them. Sign and expression in Wilhelm Wundt's language theory Wolfgang Mack, University of Frankfurt am Main Summary. W. Wundt is reputed as the founder of scientific psychology; his work on the
psychology of language as well as his considerations on the emergence of language from
non-verbal signs are less well-known. This paper therefore outlines his approach to
semiotic problems, especially his view that language is rooted in motor behavior and
gestures. This view can only be adequately understood if one takes into account the
philosophical background as well as Wundt's conception of psychology. Although Wundt
postulates that psychology had a dual character, distinguishing between physiological
psychology (i.e., an experimental psychology focusing on the individual) and
folk-psychology (i.e., a socially orientated psychology), he remains tied to a
solipsistic conception of the genesis of signs and meaning. This becomes even clearer if
Wundt's conception of the emergence of verbal signs from gestures is compared with its
critical development by G. H. Mead. It becomes evident that Wundt does not pay enough
attention to the pragmatic dimension of gestural expression. |
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