Difference between revisions of "Signified"
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==Ferdinand Saussure== | ==Ferdinand Saussure== | ||
According to [[Saussure]], the [[signified]] is the [[conceptual]] element of the [[sign]]. | According to [[Saussure]], the [[signified]] is the [[conceptual]] element of the [[sign]]. | ||
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It is not the real [[object]] denoted by a [[sign]] -- the [[referent]] -- but a [[psychological]] entity corresponding to such an [[object]].<ref>[[Saussure|Saussure, Ferdinand]]. (1916) ''Course in General Linguistics'', ed. Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye, trans. Wade Baskin, Glasgow: Collins Fontana. p.66-7</ref> | It is not the real [[object]] denoted by a [[sign]] -- the [[referent]] -- but a [[psychological]] entity corresponding to such an [[object]].<ref>[[Saussure|Saussure, Ferdinand]]. (1916) ''Course in General Linguistics'', ed. Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye, trans. Wade Baskin, Glasgow: Collins Fontana. p.66-7</ref> | ||
| + | ==Jacques Lacan== | ||
| + | ====Primacy of the Signifier===== | ||
For [[Saussure]], the [[signified]] has the same status as the [[signifier]]; both form equal sides of the [[sign]]. | For [[Saussure]], the [[signified]] has the same status as the [[signifier]]; both form equal sides of the [[sign]]. | ||
| − | + | [[Lacan]], on the other hand, asserts the primacy of the [[signifier]], and argues that the [[signified]] is a mere effect of the play of [[signifier]]s, an effect of the process of [[signification]] produced by [[metaphor]]. | |
| − | [[Lacan]] asserts the primacy of the [[signifier]] | ||
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In other words, the [[signified]] is not given, but produced. | In other words, the [[signified]] is not given, but produced. | ||
| + | =====Priority of Language==== | ||
[[Lacan]]'s view is thus opposed to an expressionist view of [[language]], according to which [[concepts]] exist in some pre-verbal state before being expressed in the [[material]] medium of [[language]]. | [[Lacan]]'s view is thus opposed to an expressionist view of [[language]], according to which [[concepts]] exist in some pre-verbal state before being expressed in the [[material]] medium of [[language]]. | ||
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==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
| + | * [[Sign]] | ||
| + | * [[Signification]] | ||
* [[Signifier]] | * [[Signifier]] | ||
| − | * [[ | + | * [[Language]] |
* [[Materialism]] | * [[Materialism]] | ||
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* [[Metaphor]] | * [[Metaphor]] | ||
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== References == | == References == | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
| − | [[Category: | + | [[Category:Psychoanalysis]] |
[[Category:Jacques Lacan]] | [[Category:Jacques Lacan]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Linguistics]] | ||
[[Category:Dictionary]] | [[Category:Dictionary]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Language]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Symbolic]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Concepts]] | ||
[[Category:Terms]] | [[Category:Terms]] | ||
| − | [[Category: | + | [[Category:OK]] |
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Revision as of 02:23, 18 August 2006
Contents
Ferdinand Saussure
According to Saussure, the signified is the conceptual element of the sign.
It is not the real object denoted by a sign -- the referent -- but a psychological entity corresponding to such an object.[1]
Jacques Lacan
Primacy of the Signifier=
For Saussure, the signified has the same status as the signifier; both form equal sides of the sign.
Lacan, on the other hand, asserts the primacy of the signifier, and argues that the signified is a mere effect of the play of signifiers, an effect of the process of signification produced by metaphor.
In other words, the signified is not given, but produced.
=Priority of Language
Lacan's view is thus opposed to an expressionist view of language, according to which concepts exist in some pre-verbal state before being expressed in the material medium of language.
In contrast to such a view, Lacan asserts the priority (logical rather than chronological) of the material element of language.
See Also
References
- ↑ Saussure, Ferdinand. (1916) Course in General Linguistics, ed. Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye, trans. Wade Baskin, Glasgow: Collins Fontana. p.66-7
