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Thesis
POSTMODERNISM AND THE THEORY OF SIGNIFICANCE
University of West Florida
Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida
2007
Abstract
Commentators often construe postmodernism as a consequence of the modern “crisis of representation”. This makes it a troublesome philosophical notion because philosophy is often understood to center on representations. According to John Deely (2001), the theory of significance called “semiotics” explains representation and thus surpasses modernism. In this thesis, I critique Deely’s account of postmodernism as semiotics. I defend Deely’s claim that semiotics is the postmodern theory of significance, but argue that his account is exclusivist and incomplete in part. I also propose the label “putative postmodernism” to name the typical construal of postmodernism. I explore, in terms of semiotics, its expression in the work of Michel Foucault and Jean-François Lyotard, though I conclude that putative postmodernism has only a superficial unity.
Details
- Title
- POSTMODERNISM AND THE THEORY OF SIGNIFICANCE
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Publisher
- University of West Florida
- Format
- text
- Identifiers
- 99380090858506600
- Academic Unit
- College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Arts (MA)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida