Augustine on lying: A theoretical framework for the study of types of falsehood

This paper presents a theoretical investigation of the issue of lying from a semiotic perspective and its specific aim is the analysis of the theory of the lie as conceived by Aurelius Augustinus, bishop of Hippo (354–430 A.D.), also known as Augustine or St. Augustine. The latter devoted two short treatises to the issue of lying: De mendacio (On lying) and Contra mendacium (Against lying), written in ca. 395 DC and 420 DC, respectively. The paper will focus on duplicity and intention to deceive as fundamental and necessary features of the lie. Augustine’s chief contribution to the study of human deception was to have severed the assessment of what is a lie from factual falsity. For Augustine, at the kernel of the notion of lying lies the idea of intentionality. Following this line of thought, the paper singles out two types of intentionality, namely the intention to assert a falsehood and the intention to mislead. On the basis of this double nature of intentionality, the present paper seeks to outline a theoretical framework for the study of species of falsehoods. The outcome is a typology of untruthfulness that envisages a fourfold inventory of falsehoods based on the difference between jokes, errors, lies and pretences

Rethinking theoretical schools and circles in the 20th-century humanities

Review of Theoretical Schools and Circles in the Twentieth-Century Humanities: Literary Theory, History, Philosophy, ed. by Marina Grishakova and Silvi Salupere. New York, London: Routledge, 2015. 287 pp

Augustinus ja märkide ning signifikatsiooni uurimine

Doktoritöö eesmärgiks on avada mõningaid aspekte, mis iseloomustavad suhet Aurelius Augustinuse (354¬–430 AD) ja märkide ning tähenduse uurimise vahel. Uurimusega püütakse näidata, miks on Augustinuse enam kui 1500 aasta tagused ideed tänapäevastes humanitaarteadustes asetleidvate arutelude jaoks endiselt olulised ja aktuaalsed. Augustinusega tegeledes ei saa temast rääkida üksnes kui teoloogist või üksnes kui filosoofist, sest sageli on need mõlemad pooled temas korraga esindatud. Enne Hippo linna piiskopiks saamist oli Augustinus edukas retoorikaõpetaja Kartaagos, Roomas ja Milaanos. Vaimustus sõnade ja igasuguste märkide vastu nagu ka sügav huvi dialektika ja kommunikatsiooni vastu saatsid teda läbi kogu elu. Käesolevas doktoritöös väidetakse, et Augustinuse mõtlemises võib selgelt näha märgiteooriale omaseid põhijooni, millele ta on pühendanud mitmeid teoseid, kus märgiteoreetilised probleemid on asetatud laiemasse teoloogilisse ja eksegeetilisse konteksti. Uurimuse eesmärgiks on Augustinuse kirjutiste analüüsi ja tõlgendamise kaudu anda lugejale ülevaade tema märgi ja signifikatsiooni teooriatest ja nende mõjust semiootikale. Doktoritöö (1) avab ja kirjeldab Augustinuse õpetust märkidest nii nagu see kajastub tema kirjutistes alates teosest “Dialectica” ja lõpetades teosega “De doctrina christiana”; (2) esitab Augustinuse semiootilise terminoloogia ja selgitab mõningaid selle eripärasid; (3) tõlgendab Augustinuse arusaamat märkidest märgiteooria algse sõnastamise ja loomise kontekstis; (4) selgitab valetamise (vale kui ebaõige signifikatsioon) käsitlust ja toob esile selle tähenduse semiootika teooriale; (5) sünteesib Augustinuse märgiteooria peamised tunnusjooned ja toob välja nende olulisuse üldise märgiteooria jaoks. Püstitatud eesmärkidest lähtudes on uurimus jagatud neljaks peatükiks, mis keskenduvad vastavalt Augustinuse teostele “De dialectica” (387), “De magistro” (389), “De doctrina christiana” (396¬–427) ja “De mendacio” (395). Lisaks neile peamistele allikatele leiavad uurimistöös kasutamist ja kajastamist ka mitmed teised teemasse puutuvad Augustinuse kirjutised. Doktoritöös analüüsitavaid teoseid siduvateks teemadeks on asjade ja märkide eristus, intentsionaalsuse idee, arusaam sõnadest kui märkidest, objekt-keele ja meta-keele eristamine, mis kõik iseloomustavad Augustinuse semiootika põhijooni.This study attempts to unravel some aspects of the relation between Augustine of Hippo (354¬–430 AD) and the study of signs and signification. This dissertation will attempt to show why, after more than fifteen hundred years, Augustine’s ideas are still as significant to the contemporary debate within the humanities. With an author such as Augustine one should be careful when drawing a line between the theologian and the philosopher because these two souls in fact often coexist. Before becoming Bishop of Hippo, Augustine was a successful teacher of rhetoric at Carthage, Rome and Milan. His fascination for words and signs of all kinds, his profound interest in dialectics and communication were indeed lifelong concerns. The present study argues that the rudiments of a theory of signs can be discerned with the clarity of Augustine, who explicitly devoted numerous works to the subject, albeit generally framed within a broader theological and exegetical context. The aim of this dissertation is to present an account of the theories of the sign and signification on the basis of the interpretation of Augustine’s works, with a view to its implications to the domain of semiotics. This study (1) unravels and describes the Augustinian doctrine of signs from the Dialectica to the De doctrina christiana; (2) expounds Augustine’s semiotic terminology and clarifies some obscure or misunderstood knots; (3) interprets Augustine’s approach to signs within the context of where the theory was originally formulated and grafted; (4) offers an account of the subject of lies (understood as a false signification) in light of its relevance to a theory of semiotics; (5) synthesizes the main features of Augustine’s sign theory and emphasizes the significance for a general theory of signs. In light of these objectives, the four chapters around which the study is articulated takes a closer look at the De dialectica (387), the De magistro (389), the De doctrina christiana (396¬–427), and the De mendacio (395), respectively. Although the inquiry is primarily confined to the abovementioned works, it does take into account numerous additional Augustinian and contemporary sources that encourage the elucidation, interpretation, and expansion of the subject. The distinction of things and signs, the concept of intentionality, the understanding of words as signs, the distinction between object language and metalanguage are the trait d’union of the works scrutinized and illustrate some of the key features of the Augustinian semiotics

The place of language among sign systems: Juri Lotman and Émile Benveniste

This paper seeks to shed light on an unwritten chapter in the history of Tartu semiotics, that is, to draw a parallel between Juri Lotman and Émile Benveniste on the status of natural language among other systems of signs. The tenet that language works as a ‘primary modelling system’ represents one of the trademarks of the Tartu-Moscow school. For Lotman, the primacy assigned to natural language in respect to other systems of signs lied in the fact that the former functions as a ‘model’ for the latter thus regarded as ‘secondary modelling systems’. Yet how does language carry out its function of being a model for other sign systems? Is language the only primary modelling system? This paper seeks to foster the abovementioned claim of the primacy of natural language and argues that this issue deserves a closer inspection. In order to follow this route, it suggests a parallel between Lotman and Benveniste arguing that there exist several points in common that lead to a convergence of positions between these two remarkable scholars. The paper explores such a possibility, arguing that Lotman’s and Benveniste’s positions open up an interesting debate with specific reference to the relations laid down between language and other system of signs

A report on the symposium “Juri Lotman and sociosemiotics” (Elva, Estonia, 19–20 May 2017)

A report on the symposium “Juri Lotman and sociosemiotics” (Elva, Estonia, 19–20 May 2017)

Scenario as a tool for critical thinking: climate change awareness and denial as a case study

Critical thinking and effective communication are indispensable skills in any professional setting in contemporary globalized and computerized society. The era of globalization and the Internet pose new challenges to education. On the one hand, people have immediate, global, and facilitated access to information. On the other hand, the increasing amount of information inevitably requires one to operate in a selective and analytical way, and to be able to critically evaluate the knowledge and information acquired. These abilities are instrumental in effective decision-making processes and complex problem-solving in the contemporary world. Moreover, critical thinking skills have a direct impact on fostering initiative, autonomy, and leadership. This paper argues for the relevance of scenario theory and practice for critical thinking. Scenario analysis has been used in complex planning domains, cybernetics, business organizations and in vocational education, but we suggest that this approach can also be used more widely in developing critical thinking. In this article, a scenario refers to a set or collection of projections of future events (Wall, 1983). By allowing the investigation of the ‘what if’ questions, scenarios make interpretations about the future and engage with the domains of the possible, probable and hypothetical. Indeed, scenarios allow us to envision possible futures and alternatives in a hypothetical course of events.Viewed through this perspective, scenarios could be included in the toolkit of critical thinking as self-reflective tools to assess the present. How, then, could imaginary scenarios enhance critical thinking? After an introduction about the concept of scenario, we will test the scenario-based approach to critical thinking in a two-level analysis. We will first analyze the scenarios employed in a corpus about climate change awareness (NASA Global Climate Change and Yale Climate Connections) and climate change denial websites (Watts Up With That and Climate Depot). Thus, we will build on the research by Oreskes & Conway (2010), Dunlap (2013) and others on the communication of contested science. The Internet plays a central role in shaping public perceptions today and hence needs to be discussed seriously as a source of misinformation. We will analyze how scenarios are used by the two competing interest groups. In the second phase of analysis, the results will be used to develop pedagogical advice for using scenarios in teaching critical thinking

Notes on the semiotics of face recognition

Perceiving and recognizing others via their faces is of pivotal importance. The ability to perceive others in the environment – to discern between friends and foes, selves and others – as well as to detect and seek to predict their possible moves, plans, and intentions, is a set of skills that has proved to be essential in the evolutionary history of humankind. The aim of this study is to explore the subject of face recognition as a semiotic phenomenon. The scope of this inquiry is limited to face perception by the human species. The human face is analysed on the threshold between biological processes and cultural processes. We argue that the recognition of likenesses has a socio-cultural dimension that should not be overlooked. By drawing on Georg Lichtenberg’s remarks on physiognomy, we discuss the critique of the semiotic bias, the association of ideas, and the mechanism of typification involved in face recognition. Face typification is discussed against the background of face recognition and face identification. We take them as three gradients of meaning that map out a network of relationships concerning different cognitive operations that are at stake when dealing with the recognition of faces.    &nbsp