The field of semiotics is fascinating. These studies have become such an
intricate part of so many disciplines since St Augustine in On
Christian Doctrine (ca. 395 ) linked the theory of signs to a theory
of language for the practice of unraveling and interpreting the
figurative language in the Scriptures. Augustine' s principles, the
basic elements of signification, were transmitted
to the modern linguist Ferdinand De Saussure, who coined the term "semiology."
Roland Barthes explored the semiology of fashion, advertising,  and
travel. Claude Levi-Strauss studied myths and kinship systems within
different cultures as a system of signs to be interpreted. Jacques
Lacan used Saussure to reformulate Freud in linguistic terms. And
figurative signs "commuted" (to use Jacques Derrida's term) things
into signs in a process that may be, for modern theorists,
interminable--this process of commutation, however, undermines the
stable referentiality that Augustine sought.
Ah, full circle--can the world and words really be commensurate?

Diane

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