Andrew Stables
QUESTIONS HOW BEST TO UNDERSTAND THE SIGN AS RELATION RATHER THAN SUBSTANCE HOW BEST TO UNDERSTAND SEMIOSIS LEARNING AND TEACHING AS SEMIOSIS
UNDERSTANDING SIGN Peirce: Firstness, Secondness, Thirdness. TRIADIC. LATENT SUBSTANTIALISM/GIVENISM? Saussure ( Structuralism Poststructuralism). Signifier~Signified. Initially DYADIC Postructuralist ‘Free play of signifiers’. LATENT REPRESENTATIONALISM?
SIGN AS FEATURE OF EVENT Universe is primarily process Process comprises processes Processes comprise events Events comprise signs (and are ‘observer dependent’) Experience is implication in events Position of minimal ontological realism (cf. strong realism of Peirce)
SEMIOSIS Peirce: Universal change/ evolution/ progress (e.g. grounding in scholastic realism; inspiration for process theologians) Deleuze/ Derrida: Difference (différance). Forgoing the temptation of closure Metaphysical choice: presence vs. absence; entity as entity in relation vs. entity as relation
SEMIOSIS RECONSIDERED Outcome is result of habit encountering new context O = (cd + cn) Progress/ change (in individual or society) is result of semiotic responses continually modified by signs appearing in new combinations P/C = (cd + cn) n Objectively determined but pure objectivity impossible. Subjectively free.
Idealism Mind discovers concepts So mind must be educated so to do
The Semiotics of the Teaching Event: Teacher, Student and That-Which-Is-To-Be-Learnt as Sets of (Shifting) Relations Classical (Thin) Empiricism ‘Mind’ discovers relationships inherent in data set, determined by qualities of data So must be educated to see such relationships clearly
TWITBL as discrete entity (idealism and thin empiricism) TEACHER WHO UNDERSTANDS prepares STUDENT WHO DOES NOT UNDERSTAND to understand TWITBL RIGHTLY OR WRONGLY
Teacher, Student and TWITBL as shifting sets of relations TEACHER WHO USUALLY HAS MORE EXPERIENCE guides STUDENT WHO USUALLY HAS LESS EXPERIENCE to explore TWITBL TO INCREASE EXISTING UNDERSTANDING (AND MODIFY TWITBL)
Teaching and learning on a substantive view of the sign THE SIGN: relates to either a material entity, a conceptual entity, or a conceptual entity implying certain material entities has reality in and of itself, even though it may depend on other entities can therefore be understood or misunderstood. THAT WHICH IS TO BE LEARNT: has considerable stability and enduring value can be learnt and taught about more or less in isolation: STUDENT and TEACHER are substantive entities can be understood primarily as persons in their own right can both be understood and misunderstood, and can understand or misunderstand TWITBL.
Teaching and learning on a relational view of the sign THE SIGN: only makes sense in relation to its spatiotemporal context has no firm reality in itself other than as experienced can therefore never be fully understood or fully misunderstood. THAT WHICH IS TO BE LEARNT: gains its salience from its context is always open to interpretation can never be taught or learnt in isolation Both TEACHER and STUDENT are in transition are themselves relational can never have either full understanding or no understanding of TWITBL.
The Semiotics of the Teaching Event: Teacher, Student and That-Which-Is-To-Be-Learnt as Sets of (Shifting) Relations WITTGENSTEIN Try not to think of understanding as any kind of mental operation at all… …’Now I know how to go on!’ Philosophical Investigations
CCUF The Correct/Complete Understanding Fallacy
MSF The Meaningless Sign Fallacy
AVEBURY PREHISTORIC MONUMENT
FORTHCOMING EVENTS AND PUBLICATIONS Launch of Edusemiotics as a theoretical (as opposed applied) branch of semiotics as IASS world conference in Sofia, September 2014, followed by special edition of Semiotica. Stables, A. and Semetsky, I. (2014 – with publishers) Edusemiotics. Routledge Semetsky, I. and Stables, A. (eds.) Pedagogy and Semiotics: theoretical challenges/ practical opportunities.(2014/2015 – Rotterdam: Sense) Stables, A. (ed.) (2014) Series of papers in two forthcoming editions of Journal of Philosophy of Education