Aristotelian semiotic

The semiotic is a science that interprets the sign that it is evident or no, for example a road sign is indication to travels that want come to a city or other town, and it is explicit, but on sign is written indication that are signs, distance and direction, that is indicate usually with an arrow, but an arrow is useless to who doesn’t know the significate of this indication, but a driver knows it and he knows interpret this arrow, or an architectonical style can says to us who is architect, and who is architect; all are some example that we see every day, but by now it are normal thereupon our attention is momentary because we know perfectly the mean of these signs, that are to their nature always signs, and the semiotic studies these significance; in art history, other example, is iconology, an address that studies the signs and the meaningful of determined objects that in art history are called attributes; Aristotle in his book The categories adopt this method, some example: “Homonyms, synonyms and paronyms. We call homonyms of things whose the name is common, but the definition is different, for example the animal is called both the man and the painting, their name is alone common but the definition is different; because if we give a definition to every to each has the own. Its called synonyms the tings whose  the name is common and the definition corresponding to name is same, for example; we can called animal both man and the ox; in fact each is called animal through the common name, and the definition is same, because the definition of each, what is to each being animal, we are going to give same definition is same. It are paronyms every things that differing to case but have took the name from things that is equal, for examples courage and courageous”; these examples are clear and very easy, and it seems haven’t importance to a semiotic, but we consider the last example; the courage is a substantive, but we can understand this quality from behavior in from of danger of somebody, the is a sign, but what means? That he has courage, and we to semiotic discipline we can think that this is courageous, hence he has courage; the name is same almost, but meaning is in subject, in opinion of Aristotle, and in semiotic the courage is own of man courageous, equal but different to nature, why? Simple because the courage is a quality, it is a virtue, but is a substantive that can be common to humankind, however it isn’t so; because the danger that is affronted can be much different, also assume the a responsibility is courageous, but it isn’t lethal, but in particular circumstance, when the reputation is shown, but it isn’t lethal; when somebody uses parachute to jump from an fly it is very courageous but is different in confront of reputation; but we can understand the courage of a man both to reputation and parachute, and although we can adjective these cases as courageous the frame is different, same difference that Aristotle sees and identify: “When the kinds are different  and no one under to other also the differences are diverse, for examples “Animal and science; in fact differences of animal are terrestrial, volatile, aquatic and biped, but nothing of these is difference of science because isn’t a science biped”; this difference is evident and the meaning is and can be different both the courage, because has courage in different frames, but every courage is, and the judgement is equal or is radical different because are things absolutely different, but the example of animal, that we have seen above is very fitting because the man is animal, therefore it is equal to every animal, but the difference is in form, in brain, in habit, whereby what is this animal? A man, that is biped, also the bird is animal and it is biped, but is different although it is animal and biped, the difference is both in Aristotle and in the semiotic, because if I buy bird food, without confess why, the cashier can understand that I keep the bird or birds, because prepared the dinner with bird food to a family or host is impolite beyond to jail; I haven’t tell because I am buying this bird food, but it is evident; the semiotic is study of association of meanings that we can take pick of the daily life or the philosophy or other; when we can’t make this association thereupon say . “I don’t know” or “I am not specialist”, it is so because to us is impossible make the bond and justify some cause; this exercise is natural in man, but it is science today, and this science is the semiotic, that in Aristotle is in the Categories also.

Alessandro Lusana