Aristotle's Psychology of Signification: A Commentary on "De Interpretatione" 16a 3-18 (Beiträge zur Altertumskunde Book 303)

This book reconstructs the theory of signification implicit in Aristotle’s De Interpretatione and its psychological background in his De Anima. The study develops in three steps that correspond to the three elements involved in every notion of signification: (1) the phonetic element or significans, called phônê by Aristotle, (2) the significatum, i. e. what the phonetic material stands for, and (3) the relation between significans and significatum. This work breaks new ground by connecting the linguistic and psychological aspects of Aristotle’s theory of signification. Introduction 11 1 Φωνή 14 1.1 The Problem of Φωνή 16 1.2 Material, Physiological, and Psychological Aspects of Φωνή 26 1.2.1 Physiology of Φωνή 26 1.2.2 Psychological Aspect of Φωνή 29 1.3 The Psychological Aspect of Vocalized Sound: Φαντασία or Νόημα 34 1.3.1 Φαντασία: Trigger of Vocalized Sound and Information Conveyed by Vocalized Sound 38 1.3.2 Vocalized Sound as Motion 43 1.3.3 Human and Animal Φωνή 46 2 Σημεĩον 52 2.1 Σημαίνειν, Σημεĩον, and Σημαντικóν in Classical Greek 52 2.2 Σημαίνειν, Σημεĩον, and Σημαντικóν in Aristotle 57 2.2.1 Natural and Conventional Signification in Aristotle 60 2.2.2 Σημεĩον, Σύβολον, and Δηλοũν 65 2.3 Signs Signify Something that is One 71 2.3.1 Signifying T1 and "ΕΝ 71 2.3.2 Not-Man and Goat-Stag as Significata, T1 and "ΕΝ 78 2.3.3 Logical Aspects of the Unity of Nominal Definition 80 3 The Significatum 86 3.1 Νόημα 86 3.1.1 General Meaning of ???μa 86 3.1.2 Νοũς, Διάνοια, and δόξα in De Interpretatione 91 3.2 Νοήματα in De Interpretatione and De Anima 94 3.2.1 Simple and Complex Thoughts 96 3.2.2. Truth and Falsehood in De Interpretatione and De Anima 99 3.2.3 Objects of Thought in De Interpretatione and De Anima 101 3.2.3.1 Individuals as Objects of Intellection 102 3.2.3.2 Species and Genera as Objects of Intellection 108 3.2.3.3 Non-Existent Entities as Objects of Intellection 110 4 Νοήματα in De Interpretatione and De Anima, a New Interpretation of De Interpretatione 16a3 — 8 115 4.1 De Interpretatione 16a3 — 8: Its Psychological Presuppositions and Its Philosophical Implications 116 4.2 Psychological Background Suggested by 'Ομοίωμα 117 4.3 Impact of the Reading 'Ομοίωμα as an Aristotelian Technical Term on the Global Interpretation of 16a3 —9 and Πρώτων 125 4.4 Πρώτων as a Technical Term and Πράγμα 134 4.5 Philosophical Implications of Reading Πρώτων as ‘Priomordial’ 135 4.6 Why Thoughts Are the Same for Everybody and why Phantasiai can be Different for Different People 137 4.7 The Text of De Interpretatione 16a3 —8 143 5 Κατά Συνθήκην 151 5.1 Arbitrariness 153 5.1.1 Distinctive Features of Human Vocalized Sound and Articulation 153 5.1.2 Consistency between De Interpretatione and De Anima in the Understanding of Vocalized Sounds 166 5.2 Convention and an Interpretation of De Interpretation 16a21-29 and 16a3-8 169 5.3 Convention and Λόγοι 174 Concluding Remarks 181 Bibliography 185 Name index 194

This book reconstructs the theory of signification implicit in Aristotle’s De Interpretatione and its psychological background in his writing De Anima, a project often envisioned by scholars but never systematically undertaken.

I begin by explaining what sort of phonetic material, according to Aristotle, can be a significans and a phônê. To that end, I provide a physiological account of which animal sounds count as phônê, as well as a psychological evaluation of the cognitive content of the phônai under consideration in De Interpretatione: names, verbs, and assertive sentences.

I then turn to noêmata, which, for Aristotle, are the psychological reference and significata of names, verbs and assertive sentences. I explain what, for Aristotle, are the logical properties a significatum must have in order to be signified by the phonetic material of a name, verb or assertive sentence, and why noêmata can fulfil those logical conditions.

Finally, I elucidate the significans-significatum relation without making use of the modern semantic triangle. This approach is consonant with Aristotle’s methodology and breaks new ground by exploring the connection between the linguistic and psychological aspects of Aristotle’s theory of signification.

Main description: This book reconstructs the theory of signification implicit in Aristotle's De Interpretatione and its psychological background in hisDe Anima. The study develops in three steps that correspond to the three elements involved in every notion of signification: (1) the phonetic element or significans, called phônê by Aristotle, (2) the significatum, i. e. what the phonetic material stands for, and (3) the relation between significans and significatum. This work breaks new ground by connecting the linguistic and psychological aspects of Aristotle's theory of signification Die Beiträge zur Altertumskunde enthalten Monographien, Sammelbände, Editionen, Übersetzungen und Kommentare zu Themen aus den Bereichen Klassische, Mittel- und Neulateinische Philologie, Alte Geschichte, Archäologie, Antike Philosophie sowie Nachwirken der Antike bis in die Neuzeit. Dadurch leistet die Reihe einen umfassenden Beitrag zur Erschließung klassischer Literatur und zur Forschung im gesamten Gebiet der Altertumswissenschaften.