meaning

  • On Definition and Language

    “Nothing properly signifies itself.” To signify: this is to convey something other, to something other. Signification thereby contrasts with representation by their respective extensions, which can be either “other-representation” or “self-representation”. When you see a portrait, this represents something other than itself, namely, the person portrayed. When you see that person herself, her visible being…

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  • Trivium: The Art of Logic 2023

    On 1 May 2023, we will begin our second Trivium course of the year: The Art of Logic. Our first discussion session will take place on 8 May 2023 at 6:00pm ET. This course is open to all enrolled Lyceum Institute members; having taken Grammar is not a prerequisite. If you would like to sign-up and take…

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  • John Deely on Deconstruction

    What is deconstruction? As John Deely makes clear, deconstruction is a tool rather than a system, and if made a system, becomes a dead-end.

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  • On Signs and Simulations

    On 15 March 2023, the Lyceum Institute held a Philosophical Happy Hour on the topic of “simulation hypotheses”.  This essay draws upon the observations offered and explored in that conversation and attempts a synthetic presentation of the collective insights of our community, with the addition of reflection and research by the author.  These Happy Hours…

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  • On Analogy

    A Brief Primer on the Doctrine’s Confusion Few topics have brought as much consternation to Thomists than that of analogy; not only those living and writing in the contemporary period (subsequent, that is, to the Leonine revival initiated in 1879), but stretching back to the first fluorescence of Thomism begun in the late fourteenth century,…

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  • Signs of Meaning: The Need for Semiotics

    In this first public Colloquium hosted by the Lyceum Institute, we ask: why is semiotics important? Why do we need it?

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  • Wisdom & Culture

    Too few are the hours dedicated in our day to the pursuit of contemplation: not only the fruits of genuine meditative insight, but also the practice whereby it becomes possible. Yet the philosophical desire sits in all our hearts, realized or not. Join us in either or both of these wonderful seminars to weave philosophical…

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  • IO2S Deely – A Response to Göran Sonesson

    On 25 February 2022, Prof. Göran Sonesson presented “What is Cognitive Semiotics?” for the International Open Seminar on Semiotics: a Tribute to John Deely on the Fifth Anniversary of His Passing. In the spirit of openness, I have penned a response to this presentation: In his brief and dense work, The Human Use of Signs,…

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  • IO2S Deely – Daydreams and Dark Magic: Semiotics and the Meaning of Evil

    On 19 February 2022, at 2pm ET (check event times around the world here), our own Kirk Kanzelberger will present on “Daydreams and Dark Magic: Semiotics and the Meaning of Evil”. Dr. Kanzelberger holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Fordham University (New York), an M.A. in Philosophical and Systematic Theology from the Dominican School of…

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  • IO2S Deely – The Enchantment of De-Sign

    On 11 January 2022 at 2pm ET/11am PT (7pm UTC – check times around the world), Farouk Y. Seif will present “The Enchantment of De-Sign: Navigation Toward Meaning-Making” as the first presentation of the International Open Seminar on Semiotics: a Tribute to John Deely on the Fifth Anniversary of His Passing. Mauricio Neubern will provide…

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