To be means to communicate

Article

Cobley, P. 2014. To be means to communicate. The American Journal of Semiotics. 30 (3/4), pp. 229-246. https://doi.org/10.5840/ajs2014303/412
TypeArticle
TitleTo be means to communicate
AuthorsCobley, P.
Abstract

The main idea underpinning the position outlined in this paper is a very common one. In fact, it is also quite old: the notion that structure facilitates. The paper attempts to sketch a picture of the human as a sign. In doing so, it also attempts to negotiate an understanding of the human as constituted by ‘selfhood’ on the one hand and by what has become known as ‘subjectivity’, on the other. it attempts to provide one way of approaching the nature/nurture, biology/culture or, also, the structure/agency debates through the investigation of semiosis.

Research GroupEnglish Language and Literature
PublisherPhilosophy Documentation Center
JournalThe American Journal of Semiotics
ISSN0277-7126
Publication dates
Print2014
Publication process dates
Deposited15 Jun 2015
Output statusPublished
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.5840/ajs2014303/412
Scopus EID2-s2.0-84924577007
LanguageEnglish
First submitted version
Permalink -

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/859v7

Log in to edit

Download files

  • 91
    total views
  • 40
    total downloads
  • 5
    views this month
  • 7
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

“I’ll show you differences”: Skills, creativity and meaning
Siebers, J. and Cobley, P. 2024. “I’ll show you differences”: Skills, creativity and meaning. Social Epistemology. 38 (1), pp. 28-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/02691728.2023.2283845
The case against narrative
Cobley, P. 2023. The case against narrative. Cybernetics & Human Knowing. 30 (1-2), pp. 83-99.
Introduction
Cobley, P. 2023. Introduction. in: Pelkey, J. and Cobley, P. (ed.) Bloomsbury Semiotics Volume 4: Semiotic Movements London Bloomsbury Academic. pp. xix–14
Global semiotics
Cobley, P. 2023. Global semiotics. in: Pelkey, J. (ed.) Bloomsbury Semiotics Volume 1: History and Semiosis London Bloomsbury. pp. 17-38
A dialogue between distributed language and reading disciplines
Trasmundi, S. and Cobley, P. 2021. A dialogue between distributed language and reading disciplines. Language Sciences. 84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2021.101355
Close reading and distance: between invariance and a rhetoric of embodiment
Cobley, P. and Siebers, J. 2021. Close reading and distance: between invariance and a rhetoric of embodiment. Language Sciences. 84, pp. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2021.101359
Practice as research: a cybersemiotic overview of knowing
Cobley, P. 2021. Practice as research: a cybersemiotic overview of knowing. in: Vidales, C. and Brier, S. (ed.) Introduction to Cybersemiotics: A Transdisciplinary Perspective Cham Springer.
“Who goes there?” Reflections on signs and personhood in Christopher Hutton’s Integrationism and the Self
Cobley, P. 2020. “Who goes there?” Reflections on signs and personhood in Christopher Hutton’s Integrationism and the Self. Sign Systems Studies. 48 (1), pp. 159-173. https://doi.org/10.12697/sss.2020.48.1.09
Peirce’s diagrammatic reasoning and the cinema: image, diagram, and narrative in The Shape of Water
Lee, Y. and Cobley, P. 2020. Peirce’s diagrammatic reasoning and the cinema: image, diagram, and narrative in The Shape of Water. Semiotica. 2020 (236-37), pp. 29-46. https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2019-0025
Ethical food packaging and designed encounters with distant and exotic others
Machin, D. and Cobley, P. 2020. Ethical food packaging and designed encounters with distant and exotic others. Semiotica. 2020 (232), pp. 251-271. https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2019-0035
Realism
Cobley, P. 2020. Realism. in: Allan, J., Gulddal, J., King, S. and Pepper, A. (ed.) The Routledge Companion to Crime Fiction London Routledge. pp. 202-210
Reimagining semiotics in communication
Cobley, P. 2020. Reimagining semiotics in communication. in: Filimowicz, M. and Tzankova, V. (ed.) Reimagining Communication: Meaning Routledge. pp. 1-26
Growth as constraint
Cobley, P. 2018. Growth as constraint. Recherches sémiotiques / Semiotic Inquiry. 38 (3), pp. 97-115. https://doi.org/10.7202/1076195ar
Afterword: semiotics and languaging
Cobley, P. 2019. Afterword: semiotics and languaging. Chinese Semiotic Studies. 15 (4), pp. 697-709. https://doi.org/10.1515/css-2019-0035
Peirce in contemporary semiotics
Cobley, P. 2019. Peirce in contemporary semiotics. in: Jappy, T. (ed.) The Bloomsbury Companion to Contemporary Peircean Semiotics London Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 31-72
Don Favareau - congenor
Cobley, P. 2017. Don Favareau - congenor. in: Kull, K. and Cobley, P. (ed.) Biosemiotics in the Community: Essays in Honour of Donald Favareau Tartu University of Tartu Press. pp. 123-129
The outsourcing of memory
Cobley, P. 2017. The outsourcing of memory. in: Thellefsen, T. and Sørensen, B. (ed.) Umberto Eco in His Own Words Berlin De Gruyter Mouton.
Observership, 'knowing' and semiosis
Cobley, P. 2018. Observership, 'knowing' and semiosis. Cybernetics & Human Knowing. 25 (1), pp. 23-47.
Human understanding: The key triad
Cobley, P. 2018. Human understanding: The key triad. The American Journal of Semiotics. 34 (1-2), pp. 17-38. https://doi.org/10.5840/ajs201862038
The communicative wheel: Symptom, signal, and model in multimodal communication
Durst-Andersen, P. and Cobley, P. 2018. The communicative wheel: Symptom, signal, and model in multimodal communication. Semiotica. 2018 (225), pp. 77-102. https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2016-0228
Discussion: integrationism, anti-humanism and the suprasubjective
Cobley, P. 2017. Discussion: integrationism, anti-humanism and the suprasubjective. in: Pablé, A. (ed.) Critical Humanist Perspectives: The Integrational Turn in Philosophy of Language and Communication London Routledge. pp. 267-284
Is visual culture a by-product of the repression of nonverbal communication?
Cobley, P. 2017. Is visual culture a by-product of the repression of nonverbal communication? in: Zantides, E. (ed.) Semiotics and Visual Communication II: Culture of Seduction Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 2-14
Semiotics
Cobley, P. and Machin, D. 2020. Semiotics. in: Bull, S. (ed.) A Companion to Photography WileyBlackwell. pp. 133-154
Deely, John Nathaniel (1942-)
Cobley, P. 2016. Deely, John Nathaniel (1942-). in: Shook, J. (ed.) The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Philosophers in America: From 1600 to the Present Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 244-247
Helpful feedback
Cobley, P. 2016. Helpful feedback. Cybernetics & Human Knowing. 23 (2), pp. 87-89.
Geopolitical reality: the thriller, global power, and the logic of revelation
Cobley, P. 2016. Geopolitical reality: the thriller, global power, and the logic of revelation. in: Pepper, A. and Schmid, D. (ed.) Globalization and the State in Contemporary Crime Fiction London Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 197-216
Biosemiotics, politics and Th.A. Sebeok’s move from linguistics to semiotics
Cannizzaro, S. and Cobley, P. 2015. Biosemiotics, politics and Th.A. Sebeok’s move from linguistics to semiotics. in: Velmezova, E., Kull, K. and Cowley, S. (ed.) Biosemiotic Perspectives on Language and Linguistic Springer.
Narrative
Cobley, P. 2016. Narrative. in: Moy, P. (ed.) Oxford Bibliographies in Communication Oxford University Press (OUP).
Signs
Cobley, P. 2016. Signs. in: Jensen, K., Rothenbuhler, E., Pooley, J. and Craig, R. (ed.) The International Encyclopedia of Communication Theory and Philosophy Chichester John Wiley & Sons.
Vistas for organized global semiotics
Cobley, P. and Bankov, K. 2016. Vistas for organized global semiotics. Semiotica. 2016 (211), pp. 9-18. https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2016-0093
Sign, object, thing: an eternal golden braid
Cobley, P. and Stjernfelt, F. 2016. Sign, object, thing: an eternal golden braid. Chinese Semiotic Studies. 12 (3), pp. 329-334. https://doi.org/10.1515/css-2016-0031
组织总体符号学之展望
Cobley, P. 2016. 组织总体符号学之展望. Journal of Huaiyin Normal University.
Cultural Implications of Biosemiotics
Cobley, P. 2016. Cultural Implications of Biosemiotics. Springer.
Animal crackers: Being a Beast by Charles Foster, Profile Books, £14.99 GoatMan: How I took a holiday from being human by Thomas Thwaites, Princeton Architectural Press, $24.95/£14.99 [Book review]
Cobley, P. 2016. Animal crackers: Being a Beast by Charles Foster, Profile Books, £14.99 GoatMan: How I took a holiday from being human by Thomas Thwaites, Princeton Architectural Press, $24.95/£14.99 [Book review]. New Scientist. 230 (3067), pp. 42-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0262-4079(16)30576-0
Semiotics
Cobley, P. 2016. Semiotics. in: Jensen, K., Rothenbuhler, E., Pooley, J. and Craig, R. (ed.) The International Encyclopedia of Communication Theory and Philosophy Chichester John Wiley & Sons.
Scaffolding development and the human condition
Cobley, P. and Stjernfelt, F. 2015. Scaffolding development and the human condition. Biosemiotics. 8 (2), pp. 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12304-015-9238-z
The deaths of semiology and mythoclasm: Barthes and media studies
Cobley, P. 2015. The deaths of semiology and mythoclasm: Barthes and media studies. Signs and Media. https://doi.org/10.13760/b.cnki.sam.2015.01.001
Semioethics, voluntarism and anti-humanism
Cobley, P. 2007. Semioethics, voluntarism and anti-humanism. New Formations: a journal of culture/theory/politics.
Codes and coding: Sebeok’s zoosemiotics and the dismantling of the fixed-code fallacy
Cobley, P. 2014. Codes and coding: Sebeok’s zoosemiotics and the dismantling of the fixed-code fallacy. Semiotica. 2014 (198), pp. 32-45. https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2013-0100
Enhancing survival by not enhancing survival: Sebeok’s semiotics and the ultimate paradox of modelling: 9th Sebeok Fellow Address
Cobley, P. 2014. Enhancing survival by not enhancing survival: Sebeok’s semiotics and the ultimate paradox of modelling: 9th Sebeok Fellow Address. The American Journal of Semiotics. 30 (3/4), pp. 191-204. https://doi.org/10.5840/ajs2014303/410
Re-viewing Vantage Point
Cobley, P. 2014. Re-viewing Vantage Point. in: Buckland, W. (ed.) Hollywood Puzzle Films New York Routledge. pp. 217-232
Metaphysics of wickedness
Cobley, P. 2014. Metaphysics of wickedness. in: Thellefsen, T. and Bent, S. (ed.) Charles Sanders Peirce in His Own Words: 100 Years of Semiotics, Communication and Cognition Berlin De Gruyter Mouton.
What the humanities are for - A semiotic perspective
Cobley, P. 2014. What the humanities are for - A semiotic perspective. The American Journal of Semiotics. 30 (3-4), pp. 205-228. https://doi.org/10.5840/ajs2014303/411
Narrative. 2nd ed.
Cobley, P. 2013. Narrative. 2nd ed. Routledge.
Cybersemiotics and human modelling
Cobley, P. 2010. Cybersemiotics and human modelling. Entropy. 12 (9), pp. 2045-2066. https://doi.org/10.3390/e12092045
The cultural implications of biosemiotics
Cobley, P. 2010. The cultural implications of biosemiotics. Biosemiotics. 3 (2), pp. 225-244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12304-010-9089-6
Introduction: what is sociosemiotics?
Cobley, P. and Randviir, A. 2009. Introduction: what is sociosemiotics? Semiotica. 2009 (173), pp. 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1515/SEMI.2009.001
Farewell to brass tacks
Cobley, P. 2003. Farewell to brass tacks. Semiotica. 147 (1-4), pp. 473-484. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.2003.104
Throwing out the baby: Populism and active audience theory
Cobley, P. 1994. Throwing out the baby: Populism and active audience theory. Media Culture and Society. 16 (4), pp. 677-687. https://doi.org/10.1177/016344379401600409