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

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 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 Introduction 1 Φωνή 2 Σημεῖον 3 The Significatum 4 Νοήματα in De Interpretatione and De Anima, a New Interpretation of De Interpretatione 16a3–8 5 Κατὰ Συνθήκην Concluding Remarks