Augustine and the study of signs and signification
Date
2018-05-03
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Abstract
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.
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.