Semantics and the body
Subtitle: meaning from Frege to the postmodern
By: Horst Ruthrof.
Series: Toronto studies in semiotics
Publisher: University of Toronto Press; University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Toronto; Buffalo
Language: eng
Number of pages: 321
Subjects: Semantics; Nonverbal communication
Description: "In traditional semantics, the human body tends to be ignored in the process of constructing meaning. Horst Ruthrof argues, by contrast, that the body is an integral part of this hermeneutic activity.".

"Ruthrof reviews and analyses various 'orthodox' theories of meaning, from the views of Gottlob Frege at the beginning of the twentieth century to those of theorists in the postmodern period, then offers an alternative approach of his own. His theory features 'corporeal semantics,' and holds that meaning has ultimately to do with the body and that the meaning of linguistic expressions is indeterminate without the aid of visual, tactile, olfactory, and other bodily signs.

This approach also remedies what Ruthrof sees as a loss of interpretive will in the postmodern era." "Those involved in discourse analysis, literature, art criticism, film theory, pedagogy, and philosophy will find the implications of Ruthrof's study considerable."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [295]-309) and index.