Parallels, Interactions, and Illuminations: Traversing Chinese and Western Theories of the Sign (Toronto Studies in Semiotics and Communication)

The first major work in Sino-Western comparative semiotics, __Parallels, Interactions, and Illuminations__ is a trans-disciplinary and intercultural effort that makes intellectual connections not only across diverse academic fields but also between Chinese and Western theories of the sign.

The first major work in Sino-Western comparative semiotics, Parallels, Interactions, and Illuminations is a trans-disciplinary and intercultural effort that makes intellectual connections not only across such diverse academic fields as epistemology, anthropology, linguistics, sociology, and cultural studies but also between Chinese and Western theories of the sign in the conviction that they can shed light on one another.

In this groundbreaking work, Ersu Ding studies two traditions of semiotic realism, represented by Plato and Husserl in the West and by Mo Zi and Ouyang Jian in China. They share two fundamental assumptions with regard to meaning: that there exist ultimate qualities of things and states of affairs in the extrasemiotic world and that the meanings of words or other types of sign are derivatives of these essentials. A pioneering work that remains extraordinarily accessible, Parallels, Interactions, and Illuminations explores a wide range of issues, including inter-subjective negotiation of meaning, the relationship between metaphor and culture, and the production and dissemination of myths.

"The first major work in Sino-Western comparative semiotics, Parallels, Interactions, and Illuminations is a trans-disciplinary and intercultural effort that makes intellectual connections not only across such diverse academic fields as epistemology, anthropology, linguistics, sociology, and cultural studies but also between Chinese and Western theories of the sign in the conviction that they can shed light on one another. In this groundbreaking work, Ersu Ding studies two traditions of semiotic realism, represented by Plato and Husserl in the West and by Mo Zi and Ouyang Jian in China. They share two fundamental assumptions with regard to meaning: that there exist ultimate qualities of things and states of affairs in the extrasemiotic world and that the meanings of words or other types of sign are derivatives of these essentials. A pioneering work that remains extraordinarily accessible, Parallels, Interactions, and Illuminations explores a wide range of issues, including inter-subjective negotiation of meaning, the relationship between metaphor and culture, and the production and dissemination of myths."--pub. desc. In this groundbreaking work, Ersu Ding studies two traditions of semiotic realism, represented by Plato and Husserl in the West and by Mo Zi and Ouyang Jian in China. They share two fundamental assumptions with regard to meaning: that there exist ultimate qualities of things and states of affairs in the extrasemiotic world and that the meanings of words or other types of sign are derivatives of these essentials. A pioneering work that remains extraordinarily accessible, Parallels, Interactions, and Illuminations explores a wide range of issues, including inter-subjective negotiation of meaning, the relationship between metaphor and culture, and the production and dissemination of myths."--Besedilo z zavihka Contents 5 Acknowledgments 7 List of Figures and Tables 9 Meaning of Symbols and Orthographic Conventions 11 Introduction 13 1. The Platonic Triad and Its Chinese Counterpart 20 2. Ontological Realism under Fire 30 3. The Return of the Subject(s) 48 4. The Peircean Trichotomy 71 5. The Poetic Logic 89 6. Metaphor and Culture 113 7. Myth Making and Its Socio-Economic Functions 145 Epilogue. Semiotics as an Interdisciplinary Enterprise 165 Technical Glossary 169 Biographical Sketches 189 Notes 201 Cited Works and General Bibliography 207 Index 217