The Specter of Signification: Meillassoux’s Speculative Materialism and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus on the Empty Sign and Its Iteration

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

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Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://www.revue-klesis.org/index.html#d59" target="_blank" >https://www.revue-klesis.org/index.html#d59</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

The Specter of Signification: Meillassoux’s Speculative Materialism and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus on the Empty Sign and Its Iteration

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

While defending his speculative materialism, Quentin Meillassoux has accused many thinkers of a « correlationism » in which the cognizing subject is incapable of reaching the reality indifferent to human thought. The prime instances he gives of strong correlationism are Wittgenstein’s Tractatus and Heidegger’s fundamental ontology. In this article, I argue that Meillassoux’s speculative materialism closely resembles Wittgenstein’s Tractatus. They share a fundamental belief in the contingency of all entities. Wittgenstein advances the picture theory of meaning, in which language and reality are correlated. However, on closer inspection, the picture theory operates on two levels: the level of names referring to objects and the level of propositions referring to facts. I argue that the former level is very close to Meillassoux’s theory of the empty sign that is devoid of meaning and capable of identical iteration. This is, he claims, the distinguishing feature of mathematical discourse, which is capable of accessing mind-independent reality. If this is so, then either some correlations are capable of accessing that reality or, more importantly, the notion of correlation must be specified more precisely. At the same time, I wish to argue that Meillassoux’s derivation of the empty sign can be taken as complementing the Tractatus, because Meillassoux argues that a sign is thinkable without any signification. In the final part of the paper, I evaluate Meillassoux’s argument for, the facticity of every correlation, and argue that Wittgenstein’s Tractatus, under certain interpretations, can escape this critique.

Název v anglickém jazyce

The Specter of Signification: Meillassoux’s Speculative Materialism and Wittgenstein’s Tractatus on the Empty Sign and Its Iteration

Popis výsledku anglicky

While defending his speculative materialism, Quentin Meillassoux has accused many thinkers of a « correlationism » in which the cognizing subject is incapable of reaching the reality indifferent to human thought. The prime instances he gives of strong correlationism are Wittgenstein’s Tractatus and Heidegger’s fundamental ontology. In this article, I argue that Meillassoux’s speculative materialism closely resembles Wittgenstein’s Tractatus. They share a fundamental belief in the contingency of all entities. Wittgenstein advances the picture theory of meaning, in which language and reality are correlated. However, on closer inspection, the picture theory operates on two levels: the level of names referring to objects and the level of propositions referring to facts. I argue that the former level is very close to Meillassoux’s theory of the empty sign that is devoid of meaning and capable of identical iteration. This is, he claims, the distinguishing feature of mathematical discourse, which is capable of accessing mind-independent reality. If this is so, then either some correlations are capable of accessing that reality or, more importantly, the notion of correlation must be specified more precisely. At the same time, I wish to argue that Meillassoux’s derivation of the empty sign can be taken as complementing the Tractatus, because Meillassoux argues that a sign is thinkable without any signification. In the final part of the paper, I evaluate Meillassoux’s argument for, the facticity of every correlation, and argue that Wittgenstein’s Tractatus, under certain interpretations, can escape this critique.

Druh

J_ost - Ostatní články v recenzovaných periodicích

CEP obor

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OECD FORD obor

60301 - Philosophy, History and Philosophy of science and technology

Projekt

<a href="/cs/project/GA23-06827S" target="_blank" >GA23-06827S: Ornament: estetika, politika a metafyzika opakování</a><br>

Návaznosti

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Rok uplatnění

2025

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Klēsis - Revue de philosophie

ISSN

1954-3050

e-ISSN

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Svazek periodika

59

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

2025

Stát vydavatele periodika

FR - Francouzská republika

Počet stran výsledku

20

Strana od-do

1-19

Kód UT WoS článku

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EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

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