Signs and Signification in a Global Comparative Perspective

Premodern and Early Modern Sources in Original and Translation
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-90-04-70717-7
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 12, 275 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm

Reihe: Ancient Languages and Civilizations

Theories and practices of signification have flourished across space and time. This book examines premodern thinking on signs in ancient Greek philosophy, Chinese divination, Islamic theology, Hebrew epistemology, medieval Latin logic, South Asian language theory, and early modern European artificial languages. Each chapter analyzes and contextualizes key primary sources presented in their original language and English translation, offering rich resources for comparative analysis of approaches to semiosis in religious and scholarly exegesis, prognostication, and the philosophical search for distinctions between natural and artificial signs. The volume brings to light both universal concerns and unique cultural features that shaped the evolution of semiotics.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Weitere Mitwirkende

Avxentevskaya, Maria

Most, Glenn W.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Sprachwissenschaften

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments

List of Figures

Notes on Contributors

General Introduction Maria Auxent and Glenn W. Most

1 Sign and Signification in Ancient Greece Glenn W. Most

2 Signs and Signification in Chinese Divination Michael Lackner

3 Names as Signs in Classical Islam Hannah C. Erlwein

4 Judaism: Signifying God according to Maimonides Yehuda Halper

5 Signs and Signification in Latin Medieval Philosophy Dominic Dold

6 Words and Signs in the Vernacular in Sanskrit Eric Moses Gurevitch

7 Artificial Signs and Signification in Early Modern Europe Maria Auxent

Appendix

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Maria Auxent, Ph.D. Freie Universität Berlin (2015), has published widely on the history and philosophy of early modern scientific language and science communication. She is a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin.

Glenn W. Most is an External Scientific Member of the MPIWG, Berlin, and Professor Emeritus of Greek Philology at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa. He has published many books and articles on classical philology and comparative classical traditions worldwide.