Difference between revisions of "Sign"

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{{Top}}[[signe]]{{Bottom}}
  
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sign (signe)            Lacan defines the sign as that which 'represents something
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===Ferdinand de Saussure===
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[[Image:SAUSSUREANALGORITHM.gif|thumb|200px|right|The Saussurean Sign]]
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for someone', in opposition to the SIGNIFIER, which is 'that which represents a
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According to [[Saussure]], the [[sign]] is the basic unit of [[language]]
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subject for another signifier' (S11, 207). By engaging with the concept of the
 
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sign, Lacan sets his work in close relation to the science of semiotics, which
 
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has grown rapidly in the twentieth century. Two main lines of development
 
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  can be discerned within semiotics: the European line associated with Ferdi-
 
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nand de Saussure (which Saussure himself baptised with the name of 'semi-
 
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ology'), and the North American line associated with Charles S. Peirce.
 
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      l. According to Saussure, the sign is the basic unit of LANGUAGE (ÕQRguÄ).
 
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The sign is constituted by two elements: a conceptual element (which Saussure
 
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calls the signified), and a phonological element (called the signifier). The two
 
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elements are linked by an arbitrary but unbreakable bond. Saussure repre-
 
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sented the sign by means of a diagram (Figurel7; see Saussure, 1916: 114).
 
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    In this diagram, the arrows represent the reciprocal implication inherent in
 
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signification, and the line between the signified and the signifier represents
 
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umon.
 
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    Lacan takes up the Saussurean concept of the sign in his 'linguistic turn' in
 
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psychoanalysis during the 1950s, but subjects it to several modifications.
 
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Firstly, whereas Saussure posited the reciprocal implication between the
 
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signifier and the signified (they are as mutually interdependent as two sides
 
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of a sheet of paper), Lacan argues that the relation between signifier and
 
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signified is extremely unstable (see suP). Secondly, Lacan asserts the exis-
 
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tence of an order of 'pure signifiers', where signifiers exist prior to signifieds;
 
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this order of purely logical structure is the unconscious. This amounts to a
 
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destruction of Saussure's concept of the sign; for Lacan, a language is not
 
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composed of signs but of signifiers.
 
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    To illustrate the contrast between his own views and those of Saussure,
 
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Lacan replaces Saussure's diagram of the sign with an algorithm (Figurel8)
 
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which, Lacan argues, should be attributed to Saussure (and is thus                    now
 
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sometimes referred to as the 'Saussurean algorithm'        - see E, 149).
 
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    The S in Figure 18 stands for the signifier, and the s for the signified; the
 
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position of the signified and the signifier is thus inverted, showing the primacy
 
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of the signifier (which is capitalised, whereas the signifier is reduced to mere
 
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lower-case italic). The arrows and the circle are abolished, representing the
 
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absence of a stable or fixed relation between signifier and signified. The BAR
 
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between the signifier and the signified          no longer represents union but the
 
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resistance inherent in signification. For Lacan, this algorithm defines 'the
 
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topography of the unconscious' (E, 163).
 
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    2. According to Peirce, the sign is something which represents an object to
 
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some interpretant (the term 'object' can mean, for Peirce, a physical thing, an
 
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event,    an idea,  or another sign). Peirce divides signs into three classes:
 
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'symbols', 'indices' and 'icons', which differ in the way they relate to the
 
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object. The symbol has no 'natural' or necessary relationship to the object it
 
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refers to, but is related to the object by a purely conventional rule. The INDEX
 
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has an 'existential relation' to the object it represents (i.e. the index is always
 
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spatially or temporally contiguous to the object). The icon represents an object
 
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by exhibiting its form via similarity. Peirce's distinctions between icons,
 
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indices and symbols are analytical and not intended to be mutually exclu-
 
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sive. Hence a sign will almost always function in a variety of modes; personal
 
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pronouns, for example,      are signs which function both [[Symbolic]]ally and
 
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indexically (see Peirce, 1932: 156-73; Burks, 1949).
 
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    Lacan takes up Peirce's concept of the index in order to distinguish between
 
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the psychoanalytic and medical concepts of the symptom, and to distinguish
 
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between (animal) codes and (human) languages. Lacan also develops the
 
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concept of the index along the lines set down by Roman Jakobson in the
 
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concept of the SHIFTER, to distinguish between the subject of the statement and
 
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the subject of the enunciation.
 
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The [[sign]] is constituted by two elements:
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# the [[signified]], a [[conceptual]] element (or [[concept]]), and
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# the [[signifier]], a phonological element (or sound-[[image]]).
  
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The two elements are linked by an [[arbitrary]] but unbreakable bond.
  
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=====Saussurean Sign=====
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[[Saussure]] represented the [[sign]] by means of a diagram.<ref>[[Saussure|Saussure, Ferdinand de]]. (1916) ''[[Saussure|Course in General Linguistics]]'', ed. Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye, trans. Wade Baskin, Glasgow: Collins Fontana. p.114</ref> In this diagram, the line between the [[signified]] and the [[signifier]] represents union, the reciprocal implication of the two elements.  ([[Saussure]] put the [[signifier]] and the [[signified]] in an ellipse which indicates [[structure|structural unity]] of the [[sign]].)
  
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=====Jacques Lacan=====
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[[Lacan]] takes up the [[Saussure]]an concept of the [[sign]] in his "[[linguistic]] turn" in [[psychoanalysis]] during the 1950s, but [[subjects]] it to several modifications. During the 1950s [[Lacan]] began to make us of [[Saussure]]'s [[concepts]] but adapted [[them]] in important ways.
  
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=====Relation between Signifier and Signified=====
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Firstly, whereas [[Saussure]] posited the reciprocal implication between [[signifier]] and [[signified]] (they are as mutually interdependent as two sides of a sheet of paper), [[Lacan]] argues that the relation between [[signifier]] and [[signified]] is extremely unstable.
  
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=====Primacy of the Signifier=====
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Secondly, [[Lacan]] asserts the [[existence]] of an order of "pure [[signifiers]]," where [[signifier]]s [[exist]] prior to [[signified]]s; this [[order]] of purely [[logical]] [[structure]] is the [[unconscious]]. This amounts to a [[destruction]] of [[Saussure]]'s concept of the [[sign]]; for [[Lacan]], a [[language]] is not composed of [[sign]]s but of [[signifier]]s.
  
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=====Saussurean algorithm=====
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[[Image:SAUSSUREANALGORITHM.gif|right|thumb|Saussurean algorithm|The Saussurean algorithm]] To illustrate the contrast between his own views and those of [[Saussure]], [[Lacan]] replaces [[Saussure]]'s diagram of the [[sign]] with an [[Saussurean algorithm|algorithm]] which, [[Lacan]] argues, should be attributed to [[Saussure]] -- and is thus now sometimes referred to as the "[[Saussure]]an algorithm."<ref>{{E}} p.149</ref> The '''S''' stands for the [[signifier]], and the '''s''' for the [[signified]]; the [[position]] of the [[signified]] and the [[signifier]] is thus inverted, showing the primacy of the [[signifier]] (which is capitalized, whereas the [[signifier]] is reduced to mere lower-[[case]] italic). The arrows and the circle are abolished, representing the [[absence]] of a [[stable]] or fixed relation between [[signifier]] and [[signified]]. The [[bar]] between the [[signifier]] and the [[signified]] no longer represents union but the [[resistance]] inherent in [[signification]]. For [[Lacan]], this [[algorithm]] defines "the [[topography]] of the [[unconscious]]."<ref>{{E}} p. 163</ref>
  
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==See Also==
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{{See}}
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* [[Enunciation]]
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* [[Index]]
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* [[Language]]
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||
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* [[Metaphor]]
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* [[Materialism]]
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* [[Signification]]
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||
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* [[Signified]]
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* [[Signifying Chain]]
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* [[Shifter]]
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||
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* [[Subject]]
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* [[Symbol]]
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* [[Symptom]]
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{{Also}}
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
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<div style="font-size:11px" class="references-small">
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
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</div>
  
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[[Category:Lacan]]
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[[Category:Psychoanalysis]]
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[[Category:Jacques Lacan]]
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[[Category:Linguistics]]
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[[Category:Dictionary]]
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[[Category:Language]]
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[[Category:Symbolic]]
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[[Category:Concepts]]
 
[[Category:Terms]]
 
[[Category:Terms]]
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[[Category:Concepts]]
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[[Category:OK]]
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[[Category:Psychoanalysis]]
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Latest revision as of 23:10, 20 May 2019

French: [[signe]]

Ferdinand de Saussure

The Saussurean Sign

According to Saussure, the sign is the basic unit of language

The sign is constituted by two elements:

  1. the signified, a conceptual element (or concept), and
  2. the signifier, a phonological element (or sound-image).

The two elements are linked by an arbitrary but unbreakable bond.

Saussurean Sign

Saussure represented the sign by means of a diagram.[1] In this diagram, the line between the signified and the signifier represents union, the reciprocal implication of the two elements. (Saussure put the signifier and the signified in an ellipse which indicates structural unity of the sign.)

Jacques Lacan

Lacan takes up the Saussurean concept of the sign in his "linguistic turn" in psychoanalysis during the 1950s, but subjects it to several modifications. During the 1950s Lacan began to make us of Saussure's concepts but adapted them in important ways.

Relation between Signifier and Signified

Firstly, whereas Saussure posited the reciprocal implication between signifier and signified (they are as mutually interdependent as two sides of a sheet of paper), Lacan argues that the relation between signifier and signified is extremely unstable.

Primacy of the Signifier

Secondly, Lacan asserts the existence of an order of "pure signifiers," where signifiers exist prior to signifieds; this order of purely logical structure is the unconscious. This amounts to a destruction of Saussure's concept of the sign; for Lacan, a language is not composed of signs but of signifiers.

Saussurean algorithm
The Saussurean algorithm

To illustrate the contrast between his own views and those of Saussure, Lacan replaces Saussure's diagram of the sign with an algorithm which, Lacan argues, should be attributed to Saussure -- and is thus now sometimes referred to as the "Saussurean algorithm."[2] The S stands for the signifier, and the s for the signified; the position of the signified and the signifier is thus inverted, showing the primacy of the signifier (which is capitalized, whereas the signifier is reduced to mere lower-case italic). The arrows and the circle are abolished, representing the absence of a stable or fixed relation between signifier and signified. The bar between the signifier and the signified no longer represents union but the resistance inherent in signification. For Lacan, this algorithm defines "the topography of the unconscious."[3]

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Saussure, Ferdinand de. (1916) Course in General Linguistics, ed. Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye, trans. Wade Baskin, Glasgow: Collins Fontana. p.114
  2. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p.149
  3. ↑ Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p. 163


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