#Signifier and Signified

[helenvaughans]

[omegaphilosophia]

The Philosophy of Semiotics

The philosophy of semiotics explores the study of signs and symbols, their meaning, and how they function in communication. Semiotics is concerned with understanding how meaning is constructed and interpreted in various forms of communication, whether linguistic, visual, or cultural. This field intersects with linguistics, philosophy, anthropology, and psychology, examining the processes by which signs represent objects, ideas, or concepts.

Key Themes in the Philosophy of Semiotics:

Definition of Signs:

Signs and Symbols: In semiotics, a sign is anything that communicates a meaning beyond itself. Signs can be words, images, sounds, gestures, or objects. A symbol is a type of sign that represents something by convention or agreement, such as a flag representing a country.

Sign Components: A sign typically consists of two components: the signifier (the form the sign takes, such as a word or image) and the signified (the concept or meaning it represents). The relationship between these components is central to semiotic analysis.

Semiotic Theories:

Ferdinand de Saussure: Saussure, a Swiss linguist, is one of the founding figures of semiotics. He introduced the idea of the sign as composed of the signifier and signified, and emphasized that the relationship between them is arbitrary and based on social conventions. His work laid the foundation for structuralism.

Charles Sanders Peirce: An American philosopher, Peirce developed a triadic model of the sign, consisting of the representamen (the form of the sign), the interpretant (the meaning derived by the interpreter), and the object (the actual thing to which the sign refers). Peirce’s model is more dynamic and process-oriented than Saussure’s.

Roland Barthes: A French literary theorist, Barthes extended semiotics into cultural studies, exploring how myths and ideologies are constructed through signs. He analyzed how everyday objects and media convey broader cultural meanings.

Sign Systems:

Language as a Sign System: Language is the most studied sign system in semiotics. It is composed of linguistic signs (words), which are used to communicate complex ideas and emotions. Semiotics examines how language operates as a system of signs and how meaning is structured within this system.

Non-Linguistic Signs: Semiotics also studies non-linguistic sign systems, such as visual art, music, clothing, architecture, and even body language. These systems, like language, rely on conventions and cultural contexts to convey meaning.

Signification and Meaning:

Denotation and Connotation: Semiotics distinguishes between denotation (the literal meaning of a sign) and connotation (the associated or implied meanings). For example, a red rose denotatively signifies a type of flower, but it connotatively signifies love or passion.

Polysemy: Many signs are polysemous, meaning they have multiple meanings depending on context. Semiotics explores how the same sign can be interpreted differently in various cultural, social, or personal contexts.

Structuralism and Post-Structuralism:

Structuralism: Structuralism, influenced by Saussure, is an approach that analyzes cultural phenomena as systems of signs governed by underlying structures. It seeks to understand how meaning is produced within these structures, emphasizing the role of binary oppositions (e.g., good/evil, male/female) in organizing meaning.

Post-Structuralism: Post-structuralist thinkers like Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault challenged the fixed relationships between signifier and signified proposed by structuralism. They argued that meaning is unstable, context-dependent, and subject to continual reinterpretation and deconstruction.

Semiotics in Cultural and Media Studies:

Myth and Ideology: Semiotics is used to analyze how myths, ideologies, and cultural narratives are constructed and maintained through signs. Barthes’ concept of myth explores how dominant cultural values are naturalized through everyday signs.

Media and Representation: Semiotics is a critical tool in media studies, helping to deconstruct how media texts (films, advertisements, news, etc.) produce and manipulate meaning. It examines how representations shape public perception and reinforce power structures.

Philosophical Implications:

Reality and Representation: Semiotics raises philosophical questions about the nature of reality and our ability to represent it through signs. If our understanding of the world is mediated by signs, then our perception of reality is always interpretative, never direct.

Subjectivity and Interpretation: The interpretation of signs is influenced by individual subjectivity, cultural background, and context. This challenges the notion of objective meaning and emphasizes the role of the interpreter in creating meaning.

Applications of Semiotics:

Advertising and Marketing: Semiotics is widely used in advertising to create powerful and persuasive messages. By understanding how signs operate, advertisers craft messages that resonate with consumers’ desires and cultural values.

Literary Criticism: In literary theory, semiotics is used to analyze texts, uncovering the layers of meaning embedded in language, symbols, and narrative structures.

Anthropology and Sociology: Semiotics informs the study of cultural rituals, practices, and artifacts, offering insights into how societies construct and convey meaning.

The philosophy of semiotics provides a framework for understanding how meaning is created, communicated, and interpreted through signs. It reveals the complexities of language, culture, and communication, showing how signs shape our perception of reality and our interactions with the world. By analyzing the structures and systems of signs, semiotics offers deep insights into the workings of human thought, culture, and society.

[frogaroundandfindout]

Bruce gets knocked over the head with a lead pipe and without even looking at eachother dick and Tim start circling around him making tweeting noises

Meanwhile bruce wishes the hit actually knocked him out so he didn’t have to witness his kids acting like this

[keylimeart]

could i interest you in my space regency au

[lucabyte]

some thoughts on Claude

alt title: diversity win! this Butch Nun is crafting bombs in an unventilated room in her convent while actively courting Mother Superior! Do Not Give Them Access To Unlimited Power No Matter How Nice They Are

+ bonus

[bloomfish]

why did they make her wear this. she looks like she skinned elmo and is wearing him as a trophy

[tibli]

i have been trying to figure out why the whole 'fae god' and katniss everdeen things with kendrick lamar on here were bothering me, and i think i finally put it into words.

most posts like that are probably coming from well-meaning white people (i am also partially a White People, to be clear), who otherwise dont really listen to rap. they cannot find a way to 'relate' to this black man who sings largely about issues that affect the black community– and rather than try and meet him where he is, they have to fit him into these little tumblr cultural boxes before he can be 'palatable' to them.

they have to shave off the rougher/more abrasive aspects of his work and activism because it makes them uncomfortable, that way they can pigeonhole him into something that allows them to enjoy his work without the critical analysis that MUST come with it

he is not your fae god, he is not a YA protagonist, he is not a little gremlin or a cinnamon roll or a blorbo. He is a human being with opinions and beliefs that deeply permeate his work, and to ignore that truth is to ignore the entire point. PLEASE try to engage with artists' work outside of the lens of tumblr fandom, and i mean that as nicely as possible. you are doing YOURSELF a disservice

[kolomo]

百花繚乱 (a profusion of flowers) by lilas ikuta

[pendraconems]

Both the sacrificial lamb and the executioner

|| Ko-fi || Store ||

[ryartchus]

ivti pokemon....

[oddthesungod]

A good man at war

[inafieldofstarflowers]

so the og foxes are obviously all really close, and there would probably be a significant divide between them and the fairly large group of incoming freshmen, and while we could talk about the impact that would have on their teamwork, i would rather focus on the idea of the new foxes having a conspiracy board they’re using to collaboratively try to determine which of the og foxes are in relationships with each other and what kind of relationship

[wangxianbaybee]

"Your flowers."

"You're welcome, I gave them to you."

[rodawgg]

backgoud practice !! :3 sighh me when i come home to my malewife... flips hair flippantly glisten would be a good dad i think. hed also rock those vintage floral pajama sets methinks

[livecrow]

Gundog!Soap's errand gets derailed when he catches your scent.

A retriever "retrieves" a plump bird.

Shifter/Hybrid Dark!Soap x fat reader

(cw: kidnapping)

Soap’s popping down to the shops.

He just needs to pick up an ingredient for dinner last minute. Ghost isn’t home yet, so he’s off the lead. Unsupervised. Normally, they’d get the messages together, but he only needs one thing. He could manage it. It wouldn’t be more than a wink.

But as he mills about, he can’t help feeling off.

Like he really is a dumb dog wandering around without his owner, his lead might as well be dragging on the floor behind him, collecting lint and stray bread ties—

It’s turning into one of those days where he feels far more mutt than man. 

Without Ghost’s firm hand grounding him, the place is a cacophony of input. Too many smells, too many sounds, too many colors, too much movement—all melding together into a murky emulsion of stimulus under the glaring LEDs. 

He squints down the vast row of isles for longer than he’ll admit.

Eeigit.

He should have written a note.

Thought he could have remembered one bleedy thing. Ye dinnae need a list for one thing—

Feeling frustrated and dafty, he resigns himself to traipsing down each aisle and hoping something jogs his memory. Pride wouldn’t let him call up Lt. He’d never hear the end of it. He’s a birddog for chrissake, proper braw at findin’ things—when he knows what he’s fuckin’ looking for. 

Least he can skip the sundries. He knows that much. Soap’s more than happy to avoid the detergent aisle. Stuff is bowfin. Stings his nose, makes his heid ache.

Lot of good his heid was anyway, feeling fuzzy, like it was packed with cotton. Might as well be. Nothin’ else between his ears. Certainly not the one fuckin' thing he pulled on his gutties and left the house for—

He let's loose an irritated huff and it's probably a bit too close to a growl than is wise.

Soap's trying to make good time, but he's a solid four isles in and hasn't had any luck. Eventually, he finds himself staring down a sea of tins. Fruit and veg, beans, and the sort. His eyes scanned the labels, but even readin' was a real Herculean task when he's feeling so out of sorts.

The canine part of him can't be convinced deciphering rows of little lines and squiggles is a proper use of his time. Especially when he could be usin' his nose instead.

Some wee bairn has starts greetin’ a few aise down.

—Green beans, peas, sliced carrots, corn, diced potatoes. Nae, that wasn't it—

....who in their right mind buys tinned tatties?

A passing trolley is making an awful racket. Discordant shrill squeaks and clunks of a stuck wheel scraped against his ear drums.

—It’s definitely not the asparagus—shites mingin’, and that’s fresh. Wouldnae faff about with a recipe that called for that. Cannae think how foul tinned would be… 

Soap sighs in exasperation. As he goes to abandon this aisle, he steps back to turn and bumps into something.

Soft. Soft, soft, softness presses into his hip—

The kind of softness that cradles, that molds around him. Softer than any of his toys. Soft an’ cozy as his own bed, maybe—nae, softer. His bed didn't have the same give, the same wobble. It was a softness that sent a literal shiver up his spine, saliva pooling in his mouth. That smell—

Not something, someone then.

An incidental collision, a bird had been trying to slip by him just as he stepped backwards.

The touch was there and gone in a second but he was mournful for its absence. The scent lingered at least, soothed the whine that crawled into his throat. There was no artifice to it, no acrid chemical edges that came with any fragrance found in a bottle.

You had actually managed to catch him off guard. The shiver that rattled through him began with a slight jolt of surprise at the two of your union. He must have been more out of it than he thought, he hadn't even noticed anyone else in the aisle. He'll never get used to being startled, but he wouldn’t hold that against you.

“Oh, sorry,” you muttered apologetically as you stepped back, embarrassment coloring your face. The contact clearly ruffled your feathers a bit.

Soap’s mouth shuts with an audible click, he hadn’t realized his lips were parted. He hurriedly swallows a completely unadvisable pant in your direction.

“Nae bother, hen,” he blinks. Finally finding his human voice, responding like he's supposed to when he's out and about on two legs. It’s a little breathier, a beat later than he should have responded, lower too. There's a rasp there that chafes the very air. 

...Maybe his head wasn't packed with cotton.

Maybe it was your soft, downy feathers that was muddling him up, making itself a sweet little nest in his cranium—

The bird sends him a polite, restrained smile as it scurries off.

His world narrowed, like he was watching through a spyglass. Or was it a scope? Regardless, everything else but you dissolved into blur, even his peripheral was swallowed up. Framed you in a vignette. Every tiny aspect of the minute interaction seared painlessly into his mind.

A pretty, fat partridge.

Wandering too close.

Game like that, ambling by all round and plump, right under his snout? Feathers close enough they almost tickle his nose—

It's instinct, ya ken?

Mind, for a dog that retrieves quarry, it’s in his nature. Cannae help it anymore than the shade of his coat. So, is it the dog's fault then, when he lunges? Snatches the bird up, into his warm mouth? Firm and soft all at once. The delicate control from a pup that can cradle a raw egg without fracturing the shell. When he brings it back to his master, tail waggin’ as he’s done a hundred other times?

Nae. Noone’d blame him.

He can already practically feel the pantomime thumping of your frantic heartbeat in his mouth—echoing his own excited pulse. 

Soap’s keen eyes never left his prey, even as your back was foolishly to him. His hind paws were already ahead of his brain, he followed, trailing at a distance. Stalking.

Thing should know better, he might have been a wolf. You’d have waddled straight into it's gaping maw, mistake the canines for stalactites and his tongue for a cozy spot to lay your little head.

But no, he’s no wolf. He’s safe. Won't take a bite out of you. He's a good boy— 

Good dog.

Bird dog. A Gordon Setter, Si says.

A jack of all trades, proficient at tracking, pointing, and retrieving. A soft-mouth breed. That’s very important. Most dogs cannae do what he can. Pick up a bird without pricking it. Ghost has been working with him, trainin’ him up. Helping him be more patient, learn new tricks.

Your scent—it was so hard to describe, but he luxuriated in it, nose twitching. It was warm, but not torrid. Sweet, but not cloying. Rich, but not heavy—

Familiar, somehow. Like a childhood lovey. Cheek-worn and supple as a lamb's ear. 

He’s struck by a piercing déjà vu.

It should have confounded Soap—but it didn’t. It just was. The strange mix of familiarity and unfamiliarity that shouldn’t normally coexist. He didn’t know you, nae. But it felt like he should. Maybe he’d seen you in a dream? Some sticky remnant from a past life? Nothing else could explain the strength of the reaction that gripped him by the scruff. Commanded him to “fetch”.

...He’s doin’ so well. Being so, so careful—game’s normally still, after all. Not wriggling about anymore. Is much more effort to control his grip on a bird thas tryin' to fly away.

Thing squealing like a squeaky-toy doesn’t help, zaps somethin' in his brain, even though he’s hardly pressing. Ghost will look at you an’ see there’s no teeth marks on you. He’s being good. Knows better. Not even a tiny nibble. 

Soap's so pleased.

Only wish he'd had his tail out, so he could articulate his excitement properly.

He’ll take you home and keep you. Rest a heavy paw on you when he wants you to stay put. Carry you round the house with him. Share his food with you. Show you his other toys. Only roughhouse gently, like he would a puppy. Bat you around a bit. Paw at you real gentle like. This soft, living squeaky-toy that he can nap with. Even let you nest in his own bed, tucked under his chin. He’d only ever mouth at you gently, you'd learn you wouldn’t have to fear his teeth. He’d rasp his tongue over you, help you preen yer pretty feathers.

He ached to sigh happily against you, rut his face against you. Wanted all the rest of his sighs to be against you, pressed into your skin. Nose at your crown, in your soft neck, on your squishy belly. He’s curious where on you that scent would be the strongest.

Ghost will be so proud when he sees, when he proudly lays you at his boots—

You'll like his owner. He'll pet you real nice. Ghost always knows the right spot, even before you do. Thoughtful.

So thoughtful that he won't even mind that he'll have to sort something else out for dinner.

[dykehelly]

when a milf smells like cigarettes >>>>>