Notes towards a semiotic theory of learning
-
Andrew Stables
Abstract
This article explains the academic trajectory that led to his interest in semiotics and construing education from a fully semiotic perspective. This involves an encompassing discussion of both Western metaphysics in general and, contextually, scholarly trends in British academia, where semiotics is not mainstream, especially given the analytical tradition here. The article unfurls the arguments for which semiotics, taking the side of process as opposed to substance metaphysics, can collapse mind/body dualism, in the broader discussion of overcoming the longstanding divide in Western philosophy and science between empiricism and rationalism. The discussion supports a semiotic doctrine of rich empiricism, where the sign is defined as a feature of an event, experience as the subject’s implication in events and events as the manifestations of processes. The paper concludes by pondering the importance of these considerations for learning and education through an example of educational policy.
Abstract
This article explains the academic trajectory that led to his interest in semiotics and construing education from a fully semiotic perspective. This involves an encompassing discussion of both Western metaphysics in general and, contextually, scholarly trends in British academia, where semiotics is not mainstream, especially given the analytical tradition here. The article unfurls the arguments for which semiotics, taking the side of process as opposed to substance metaphysics, can collapse mind/body dualism, in the broader discussion of overcoming the longstanding divide in Western philosophy and science between empiricism and rationalism. The discussion supports a semiotic doctrine of rich empiricism, where the sign is defined as a feature of an event, experience as the subject’s implication in events and events as the manifestations of processes. The paper concludes by pondering the importance of these considerations for learning and education through an example of educational policy.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents XIII
-
Section 1: Semiotic epistemologies
- Welcome to Semiosistan! 1
- Beyond teleonomy: Towards a biology of semiotic realism 13
- Risky heuristics 39
- The semiotic inquirer and the practice of empirical inquiry 59
- Transdisciplinarity as a solution to the challenges of the contemporary world 75
-
Section 2: Contemporary schools of theoretical semiotics
- Notes towards a semiotic theory of learning 87
- Scarcity and meaning: Towards a semiotics of economic transaction 111
- Applied ecosemiotics: Ontological basis and conceptual models 129
- The anthropological dimension of Greimas’ narrative semiotics 151
- What happens? The Zemic model in existential semiotics 169
-
Section 3: Applications and practical discussions
- Intermedial narrative as communication media: Imagination, narrative, and selfhood from Peirce’s semiotic perspective 205
- Icons of modernity in belle époque Bucharest 227
- Glimpses into Peircean event imaging: Episode-simulation as a scaffold for right-guessing 249
- Development of agency as semiotic empowerment: A Peircean analysis 273
- On the corposphere: Body, eroticism and pornography 299
- Natural and cultural layers in the discursive becoming of language as a semiotic system 311
- Index 337
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents XIII
-
Section 1: Semiotic epistemologies
- Welcome to Semiosistan! 1
- Beyond teleonomy: Towards a biology of semiotic realism 13
- Risky heuristics 39
- The semiotic inquirer and the practice of empirical inquiry 59
- Transdisciplinarity as a solution to the challenges of the contemporary world 75
-
Section 2: Contemporary schools of theoretical semiotics
- Notes towards a semiotic theory of learning 87
- Scarcity and meaning: Towards a semiotics of economic transaction 111
- Applied ecosemiotics: Ontological basis and conceptual models 129
- The anthropological dimension of Greimas’ narrative semiotics 151
- What happens? The Zemic model in existential semiotics 169
-
Section 3: Applications and practical discussions
- Intermedial narrative as communication media: Imagination, narrative, and selfhood from Peirce’s semiotic perspective 205
- Icons of modernity in belle époque Bucharest 227
- Glimpses into Peircean event imaging: Episode-simulation as a scaffold for right-guessing 249
- Development of agency as semiotic empowerment: A Peircean analysis 273
- On the corposphere: Body, eroticism and pornography 299
- Natural and cultural layers in the discursive becoming of language as a semiotic system 311
- Index 337
