Triangle of reference

The semiotic triangle is used in linguistics and semiotics model to illustrate that a character support ( grapheme, Syntagma, symbol ) is not directly and immediately related to a non-linguistic object, but this relation only indirectly by an idea / a concept ( subjectification ) takes place. The semiotic triangle published for the first time Charles Kay Ogden and Ivor Armstrong Richards in the work The Meaning of Meaning (1923).

4.1 Top ( term ) ( mediator )
4.2 Links ( word mark )
4.3 Right ( thing, object)
4.4 tabular overview

The semiotic triangle in simplified description

The world consists of objects, situations, events, etc. These are really and determine everything that happens. The symbol for a One of them is in the following right triangles and brilliance means thing or "what 's what".
When the man noticed a thing or imagine that he makes off an imaginary picture. The symbol for it is in the following triangles above and means: concept or " what you mean ."
When people talk to these terms of things that they use characters (usually audible, sometimes visible or otherwise perceptible). These are words (even numbers, names, symbols or similar). The symbol for it is in the following triangles on the left and means: word or " what one says ."
Thing, concept and word should clearly belong together. This does not always succeed, but you have to constantly watch out whether the term just used the thing under consideration correctly detected whether the word just used meets the intentioned concept, and even if the thing just considered is one at all, not some, or none at all. Adjust the three corners not to each other,

"So easily arise the most fundamental confusions ( of which the whole of philosophy is full ). "

The semiotic triangle as a pictorial representation of the multi-dimensionality of the characters

The semiotic triangle is initially only a pictorial aids to better illustrate relationships " in " or " of " character. His interpretation and detailed design therefore depends on the underlying epistemology.

In a decisive manner is illustrated by the semiotic triangle that between the word ( the character form, that is the typeface or the sound image ) and the signified ( thing, object) has no direct relationship, but only by ( at least) one here called mediator mediated relationship. This is represented graphically by a different line.

Commonly used is a triangle. The decisive factor is the non- direct relationship between character (word) and object ( thing ). Depending on the number of illustrative (not to hide ) reference points and agencies and of the type of stressed relationships can also be a square, a polygon or other a multidimensional body use.

To point out is that the mediator - here referred to by the ambiguous term " concept " - is seen very differently, which is significantly down from the terminology findings.

The semiotic triangle is showing a sign understanding that the concept of the sign of Ferdinand de Saussure, according to which a character is a "psychic unity" between an " acoustic image " ( signifier ) and a "concept" ( signified) ( with him in the sense of psychic perception ) should be expected to contradict: instead of " paper sheet metaphor " for the relationship of signifier / signified (of de Saussure ) is made create a visual separation and distancing of character body and concept (sense) in the semiotic triangle.

The semiotic triangle appears also pragmatic conditions and remuneration from or reducing them to the semantic dimension and is therefore criticized by pragmatic theories of meaning (see semiotics ).

The absence of a direct relationship between sign and object is at the same time as an expression of (of de Saussure stressed ) arbitrariness and conventionality of characters interpreted.

Term / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ Sign ...... Subject (Word) (Ding ) The history of the semiotic triangle

One must distinguish between the semiotic triangle as an image and a three-way ( triadic ) concept of the sign, which illustrate it serves.

The linguistic development is widely presented as if there were a semiotic triangle only since Ogden / Richards, who had modified so that only a two-tier concept of the sign of de Saussure / overcome. It is said that until the 19th century the concept of the sign essentially had been discussed with respect to its property reference as " binary relation ".

Others emphasize the underlying tripartite ( " triadic " ) character concept that is recognized mostly in Aristotle, sometimes even in Plato.

Plato

Already in Plato there is a mental word - object model between name (characters ) - idea ( concept ) and thing.

Aristotle

In Aristotle is a sign ( semeion, by which he means a word) a symptom of a soul stirring, ie for something that the speaker imagines. This idea of the speaker is then an icon for one thing. These are for him the primary character relations ( red in the figure below ). Derived from this is the secondary character relation ( black in the figure).

Since Aristotle is held that sign things of the world and not immediate, but mediated by a " concept ", " idea ", etc., respectively. This means to differentiate themselves from the simple aliquid stat pro- aliquot design and is " crucial to the whole history of semiotics ." In Aristotle are " characters [ ... ] of things which have been imaged by the contents of consciousness ." " The things are not presented by the characters, but represents. ". The interpretation of De interpretatione is controversial for millennia. The reproduced above interpretation corresponds to a psychological interpretation that suggests a psychologism. This is unlikely because Aristotle may have represented a more epistemological realism.

Scholasticism

In the philosophy of language of scholasticism, there are considerations to threefold scheme res ( thing, thing ), intellect ( mind, thoughts, term ), vox (word mark ).

Logic of Port -Royal

In the grammar of Port- Royal ( mid 17th century), the semiotic triangle is intended to be introduced. In the logic of Port -Royal, the objects and the language characters are not immediately, but over universals linked.

Kant

According to Kant, the mediating between concepts and sensuality or object element is the schema as a pictorial and vivid characters. The process of the mind, to sensualize using, imagination ' the pure concepts of the understanding, ie schematism.

Schopenhauer

Also, Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher of the 19th century, differs in his major work The World as Will and Representation strictly between word, concept and intuition.

Suppression of the reference frame in the character model of de Saussure

According to widespread opinion, modern linguistics and modern concept of the sign have only used with Saussure. After de Saussure, a sign is the link of an expression ( signifier ) with a content ( signifie ), where the character was perceived as "psychic unity with two sides." In this two- membered ( dyadic ) character model " the real world has no meaning ", "Here signified as a mental image, there signifier as its materialization in the language, but no place for the object itself ."

Development of a communicative- pragmatic triadic sign model Peirce

Charles S. Peirce developed a pragmatic semiotics and pragmatics should be based on the triadic sign model of Peirce. Instead of a dyadic Peirce developed a triadic sign model: the character is a " triadic relation ( semiotic triangle) ". This, by the " interpretant " added to symbol means and object, ie the importance that comes about in a context of action by interpreting the characters the user ( speaker or listener ). "

"That which appears as the content of consciousness, the interpretant is the individually recognized meaning, which may be a cultural influence before or on his part. Therefore, in this concept is the sign meaning (...) postulates as " cultural unity " ( Eco, 1972). "

Peirce performers, such as Floyd Merrell or Gerhard Schönrich turn against the triangular representation peircescher characters triads, as it might suggest that the irreducible triadic relation disassemble let into individual binary relations. Instead, they propose a Y-shaped representation, in which the three Relate are connected by a line with the center, but no lines running along the sides of the " triangle ".

Charles Kay Ogden / Ivor Armstrong Richards

As " the " representative of a tripartite character model or a semiotic triangle disseminated ( by disregarding their precursors ) Charles Kay Ogden and Ivor Armstrong Richards led. This recognized a world outside of human consciousness and expressly objected to " idealistic concepts".

After Charles Kay Ogden and Ivor Armstrong Richards character ( symbol ) symbolizes something and calls a corresponding content of consciousness ( reference) shows that refers to the object ( referent ). The semiotic triangle is explained as follows: "Environmental issues are conceptually and conceptually represented in memory and associated with language characters. Thus, for example, the word " tree " is a linguistic sign, which is associated with the term or concept of " TREE " and through this to real trees ( beech, birch, oak, etc.) can refer to. ".

Terminological findings

In the literature of the 19th and 20th century, several things appear under the name of semiotic triangle. The corners are each labeled differently. But there always comes to mapping and interpretation. The figure above shows one possible version. The different definitions of basic terms in the various authors complicate the discourse considerably.

While the characters ( body ) ( left) and the object ( right) the factual differences basically are marginal, the terminology for the tip (top) reflects the epistemological controversy. This should be reduced to the basic positions empiricism and rationalism ( psychologism ) and realism.

The clear presentation in the form of a triangle must be distinguished from the factual distinction between the reference points. So has adopted a three -place relation in the matter about Aristotle, he does not like this have also illustrated by the image of a triangle. Are sensible to cite here also logicians, they may not have interested in the character / symbol detail.

The following is a list of other variants:

Top ( term ) ( mediator )

Importance
Term (Charles Kay Ogden / IA Richards, Ferdinand de Saussure, Eugen Wüster )
State of consciousness ( Buyssens )
Signified (in the sense of de Saussure )
Designatum (Charles W. Morris, 1938) ( designat )
Thought
Idea
Content (Louis Hjelmslev )
Intension (Rudolf Carnap )
Interpretant (Charles S. Peirce )
Connotation, Konnotatum ( John Stuart Mill )
Concept
Mental image ( Saussure, Peirce )
Reference
Signifie ( Saussure )
Signified
Significatum (Morris, 1946)
Sense ( Gottlob Frege, Stephen Ullmann )
Idea
Characters as a unit to the distinction ( Niklas Luhmann)
Character Meaning

Law ( thing, object)

Underlying
Denotatum ( Morris)
Denotation ( Bertrand Russell)
Thing (Stephen Ullmann )
Extension ( Carnap )
Object ( Frege, Peirce, Wüster )
" Intentioned "
Object; " Except linguistic object" ( object, situation, process )
Speaker
Environmental Representative
Reality

Tabular overview

Ludwig Wittgenstein Port-Royal Grammar Port-Royal Logic Schema (Kant) Umberto Eco Content (media) Concept (disambiguation) Object (philosophy) Paul Lorenzen Georg Klaus Max Black Alonzo Church Organon model

485507