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Re-Visioning the Semantic and Semiotic Registers in the Study of Culture and Religion

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Re-Visioning the Semantic and Semiotic Registers in the Study of Culture and Religion University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 8-1-2011 Re-Visioning the Semantic and Semiotic Registers in the Study of Culture and Religion Gary S. Bedford University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Bedford, Gary S., "Re-Visioning the Semantic and Semiotic Registers in the Study of Culture and Religion" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 63. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/63 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. RE-VISIONING THE SEMANTIC AND SEMIOTIC REGISTERS IN THE STUDY OF CULTURE AND RELIGION __________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts __________ by Gary S. Bedford August 2011 Advisor: Professor Carl Raschke © Copyright by Gary S. Bedford 2011 All Rights Reserved Author: Gary S. Bedford Title: RE-VISIONING THE SEMANTIC AND SEMIOTIC REGISTERS IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION AND CULTURE Advisor: Professor Carl Raschke Degree Date: August 2011 ABSTRACT The term ‘God’ may be understood as the desire for the complete epistemological condition of thought; language expresses this condition in statements of ‘meaning.’ ‘Religion’ expresses this desire in texts and ritual practice which may be examined by in academic study; however, because the ‘third term’ of religio is understood as the condition of being ‘bounded to or by,’ the study of religion is itself bounded to or by this desire for the completion of thought. This desire cannot be understood as an ‘alterity’ of thought but is rather the internal native or ‘alter-native’ condition of thought itself. Religions are the native residences of this desire, and claim to know the complete condition; however, alter-natively, because thought cannot completely restrict but rather remains itself an expression of the condition, human thought and its culture are open to an unrestricted examination of the expressions of the condition. Each religion expresses itself as a ‘singularity’ of this universal condition of thought; however, because of the native factors in the epistemological condition, specifically, that thought desires but cannot fully express or know the condition, no particular religion can claim hegemony to the expression of the condition: ‘God’ as such is the full expression of thought, yet by ii the definition of the terms of thought, its expression remains fully its alter-native exception of thought. The thesis first considers the possibility of theory itself through a brief examination of etymological gaps and windows evident in its expression. Next, we examine a possible working theory for the study of religion and the epistemological implications arising from its expression. Thirdly, as a result of these two courses, we examine the semantic and semiotic conditions of what can be ‘called’ ‘meaning.’ The thesis concludes with proposed epistemological strategies for the study of culture and religion, including what are termed the eccentric semantic and semiotic loops, the potentiation of meaning in the instantiation and disinstantiation of language figurations, singularity in meaning expressions, and the unique singularity of religious meaning in what may be termed the “exceptional inception” of thought. iii Table of Contents I. Introduction of the Thesis ......................................................................................... 1 II. A brief deconstruction of the approach to “theory” ............................................... 4 Initial Summary of the Formula ............................................................................ 11 III. A Working Hypothesis: Rite, Text, Boundedness … ........................................... 14 Etymological Concerns: Encounter with the problem of language and signification........................................................................................................... 15 Excess of the Semantic Field ................................................................................ 27 Excess of the Semiotic Field ................................................................................. 34 Initial Observations ............................................................................................... 48 Etymological Concern: Contracted and Circulated Terms ...................... 52 Non-Etymological Concern: The energetic disjunctive background ....... 56 IV. Conceptual Strategies .......................................................................................... 60 The “Prescision” from Sense and Difference ....................................................... 60 Sense to Sign: The Requisite for a Theory of Semantic and Semiotic Economic Exchange ............................................................................................................... 63 Sense to Sign “Instantiation” as the Ante of Thought .......................................... 65 The Eccentric, Negotiated, Restrained, Valued “Semantic” Loop ........... 72 The Eccentric, Non-Negotiated, Unrestrained Transvalued Semiotic Loop ................................................................................................................... 86 Summary of the Eccentric Semantic / Semiotic Loops ........................................ 98 The Copula & Caesura and the Exceptional Inception of Thought .................... 102 IV. Towards a Theory of Semantic/Semiotic Exchange .......................................... 108 Semantic Exchange ............................................................................................. 108 Investment – Instantiation ....................................................................... 109 Semiotic Exchange .............................................................................................. 111 VI. Summary and Implications ............................................................................... 117 Works Consulted ....................................................................................................... 119 iv I. Introduction of the Thesis Our thesis will consider the following propositions: 1. The term ‘God’ may be understood as the desire for the complete epistemological condition of thought; language expresses this condition in statements of ‘meaning.’ 2. ‘Religion’ expresses this desire in texts and ritual practice which may be considered in academic study; however, because the ‘third term’ of religio is understood as the condition of being ‘bounded to or by,’ the study of religion is itself bounded to this desire for the completion of thought. 3. This desire for the complete epistemological condition of thought cannot be understood as an ‘alterity’ of thought but is rather the internal native or ‘alter-native’ condition of thought itself. 4. Religions are the native residences of this desire to know the complete condition; however, alter-natively, because thought cannot completely restrict this condition but remains itself an expression of the condition, human thought and its culture are open to an unrestricted examination of the expressions of the condition. 5. Each religion expresses itself as a ‘singularity’ of this universal condition of thought; however, because of the native factors in the epistemological condition, specifically, that thought desires but cannot fully express the condition, no particular religion can claim hegemony to the expression of the condition: ‘God’ as such is the full expression of thought, yet by the 1 definition of the terms of thought, its expression remains fully its alter- native excess of thought. Our examination of the propositions will proceed along the following course: 1. First, because of the theoretical nature of the propositions, we will enter the study through a consideration of the problem of ‘theory’ itself, and specifically the problems that arise from the expression of what we mean by theory in the terms and statements of language. As such we will enter the epistemological problem of thought through the portal of language. 2. Secondly, we will examine a possible working theory for the study of religion itself and the epistemological implications and problems that arise from its consideration. 3. Thirdly, because of the discoveries from the first two courses, we will then more carefully examine the semantic and semiotic conditions of what we call ‘meaning.’ 4. Finally, we will conclude with proposed epistemological strategies for the study of culture and religion. These strategies include what we term the eccentric semantic and semiotic loops, the potentiation of meaning in the instantiation and disinstantiation of language structures, singularity in meaning expressions, and the unique singularity of religious meaning in what we term the exceptional inception. 2 While we consider the thought of many theorists, Gilles Deleuze’s transcendental empiricism appears to offer the strongest theoretical basis for the concepts we want to introduce to the discourse of religious studies. In our reading, Deleuze’s thought appears to be capable of returning philosophical theory from its coursings in the
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