Structuralism

Structuralism is a line of inquiry aimed at uncovering systems of codes.  It posits that TEXTS have a single meaning based on the code structure.  That is, when you read text-based material, the text has meaning because of the symbols on the page.  This concept has been strongly attacked by the  Post-Structuralists who say TEXT has no meaning.  They argue that in fact, text is simply ink on a page, and the meaning must be supplied, created, or interjeted by the reader.
 

Language is one system of codes that we all deal with regularly.  While structuralism  has been used to study a variety of areas, it has come under attack for its application to the study of language.

Structuralists suggest that TEXTS have a single meaning.  Post Structuralist philosophers have argued that this cannot be the case.  The TEXT itself has no meaning.  Rather, the meaning resides in the SIGNS associated with the TEXT.  But the signs are representative of only a portion of, or a single aspect of the text.  Therefore, alternative signs would lead to alternative meanings.
 

Recall Chomsky’s famous sentence

 FLYING PLANES CAN BE DANGEROUS

We said before that the meaning comes from the schema or associations made.  This view expresses a similar reasoning but focuses on the sign rather than the schema.  If the sign you use to represent flying planes is a pilot, you will construct a different meaning than if the sign you use is Bernoulli’s Principle, the law of fluid dynamics, which explains the aerodynamic forces which cause planes to fly.  In the case of the sentence above, we can see that a rader might instantiate a meaning that "If as an individual, I fly an airplane, I might be putting myself in a dangerous position."  Another reader may create an equally valid understanding: "Airplanes are only dangerous when they are flying."



 

Return Home