History Of Semiotics

This volume brings together a collection of papers on the general theoretical and methodological problems in the historiography of semiotics. It is not a history in the conventional sense, even though the main periods and figures in the development of semiotics are given due prominence. Nevertheless, it should offer the reader stimulation and food for thought in the critical approach to even the least questioned facts of semiotic history and the emphasis given to hitherto neglected problems and persons.

This comprehensive survey of semiotics examines its development from pre-Socratic philosophy to Peirce’s Sign Theory and beyond. In Introducing Semiotics, renowned philosopher and semiotician John Deely provides a conceptual overview of the field, covering its development across centuries of Western philosophical thought. It delineates the foundations of contemporary semiotics and concretely reveals just how integral and fundamental the semiotic point of view really is to Western culture. In particular, the book bridges the gap from St. Augustine in the fifth century to John Locke in the seventeenth. The appeal of semiotics lies in its apparent ability to establish a common framework for all disciplines, a framework rooted in the understanding of the sign as the universal means of communication. With its clarity of exposition and careful use of primary sources, Introducing Semiotics is an essential text for newcomers to the subject and an ideal textbook for semiotics courses.

In this regard, semiotics is of relevance to a wide spectrum of scholars and professionals, including social scientists, psychologists, artists, graphic designers, and students of literature.".

Bloomsbury Semiotics offers a state-of-the-art overview of the entire field of semiotics by revealing its influence on a wide range of disciplinary perspectives. With four volumes spanning theory, method and practice across the disciplines, this definitive reference work emphasizes and strengthens common bonds shared across intellectual cultures, and facilitates the discovery and recovery of meaning across fields. It comprises: Volume 1: History and Semiosis Volume 2: Semiotics in the Natural and Technical Sciences Volume 3: Semiotics in the Arts and Social Sciences Volume 4: Semiotic Movements Written by leading international experts, the chapters provide comprehensive overviews of the history and status of semiotic inquiry across a diverse range of traditions and disciplines. Together, they highlight key contemporary developments and debates along with ongoing research priorities. Providing the most comprehensive and united overview of the field, Bloomsbury Semiotics enables anyone, from students to seasoned practitioners, to better understand and benefit from semiotic insight and how it relates to their own area of study or research. Volume 1: History and Semiosis provides a general and historical orientation to semiotic traditions and their methodologies, followed by an in-depth overview of critical issues in the study of sign systems and semiosis. It ends with an exploration of issues of sign classification and practical application, setting the scene for the remaining volumes.

Morana Alac, Introduction; Patrizia Violi, In the Beginning: The Voice of God and the Voice of the World. Two Stories about Origins; Umberto Eco, Origins of Semiosis; Jurgen Trabant, From Semiogenesis to Gottogenesis in the 18th Century Debate; Howard Bloch, Etymologies and Genealogies: History, Words, and the World; Winfried Noth, Semiogenesis in the Evolution from Nature to Culture; Thomas Sebeok, Origins: Semiosis the Domain vs. Semiosis the Field; Maxine Sheets- Jonhstone, On Bacteria, Corporeal Representation, Neanderthals, and Marta Graham: Steps toward an Evolutionary Semantics; Sherman Wilcox, Hands and Bodies, Minds and Souls: What Can Signed Languages Tell Us about the Origin of Signs?; Alex Martin, The Neural Basis of Semantic Knowledge; Philip Lieberman, Subcortical Brain Circuits, Speech and the Evolution of Semeosis

Unique graphic introductions to big ideas and thinkers, written by experts in the field.

Integrates structural and historical perspectives on the semiotics of religion and gives an account of the distinctive features of religious language and symbolism.