Juri Lotman

Bio: Juri Lotman is an academic researcher from University of Tartu. The author has contributed to research in topics: Semiotics & Sign (semiotics). The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 16 publications receiving 327 citations.

On the semiosphere

Abstract: This article, first published in Russian in 1984 in Sign Systems Studies, introduces the concept of semiosphere and describes its principal attributes. Semiosphere is the semiotic space, outside of which semiosis cannot exist. The ensemble of semiotic formations functionally precedes the singular isolated language and becomes a condition for the existence of the latter. Without the semiosphere, language not only does not function, it does not exist. The division between the core and the periphery is a law of the internal organisation of the semiosphere. There exists boundary between the semiosphere and the nonor extra-semiotic space that surrounds it. The semiotic border is represented by the sum of bilingual translatable “filters”, passing through which the text is translated into another language (or languages), situated outside the given semiosphere. The levels of the semiosphere comprise an inter-connected group of semiospheres, each of them being simultaneously both participant in the dialogue (as part of the semiosphere) and the space of dialogue (the semiosphere as a whole). Contemporary semiotics is undergoing a review of some of its basic concepts. It is a well-known fact that at the heart of semiotics lie two scientific traditions. One of these goes back to Peirce-Morris and begins with an understanding of the sign as the first element of any semiotic system. The second is based on the theses of Saussure and the Prague school and has at its core the antinomy of language and speech (texts). However, despite the differences of these approaches, 1 [Translator’s note.] This article, regarded as a classic or seminal piece by many who have studied Lotman’s work, was first published in 1984 in Signs Systems Studies (Труды по знаковым системам) 17: 5–23, and includes one of the first mentioning of the term ‘semiosphere’ coined by Lotman. Translated from the original Russian language version, published in Lotman 1992. We are not informed about any earlier English translation of this article. (See also fn. 6.)

The place of art among other modelling systems

Abstract: This article by Juri Lotman from the third volume of Trudy po znakovym sistemam (Sign Systems Studies) in 1967, deals with the problem of artistic modelling. The general working questions are whether art displays any characteristic traits that are common for all modelling systems and which could be the specific traits that can distinguish art from other modelling systems. Art is seen as a secondary modelling system, more precisely, as a play-type model, which is characterised simultaneously by practical and conventional behaviour and constant awareness of the possibility of alternate meanings to the one that is currently being perceived. At the same time art has play-like elements but is not the same as play, since play is inherently rule-bound, whereas art is a more flexible model the purpose of which is truth. Art is a special type of modelling system, since it is on one hand suitable for storing very large amount of complex information, but on the other hand it can increase the stored information and transform the consumer.

On the Dynamics of Culture

Abstract: First published as Лотман, Ю. М. 1992. О динамике культуры. Труды по знаковым системам ( Sign Systems Studies ) 25: 5–22.

Memory in a Culturological Perspective

Abstract: From the point of view of semiotics, culture represents collective intelligence and collective memory, that is, a supra-individual mechanism for preserving and transmitting messages (texts) and for creating new ones. In this sense, the field of culture can be defined as a space of shared memory, within which certain common texts are preserved and actualized. Moreover, their actualization occurs within the bounds of a certain conceptual invariant, which allows us to say that a text in the context of a new age preserves its identity to itself in the face of various interpretations.

The Phenomenon of Culture

Abstract: There are no satisfactory, generally accepted definitions for the concepts of “intelligence” and “intelligent behavior.” Equating “intelligence” (rationality) with “human-like behavior” is no more acceptable than equating it with “logical behavior.” An example of the former would be Turing’s definition, which treats as intelligent those reactions that in the process of extended communication cannot be distinguished from human reactions. An example of the latter might be the endless attempts to construct a model of artificial intelligence by complicating some simple, basic logical acts, such as solving a problem or proving a theorem.

Defining and Assessing Organizational Culture

Abstract: PROBLEM. Using theories from several disciplines, the concept of organizational culture remains controversial. Conflicting definitions, lack of semantic clarity, and debate over the most appropriate methods for assessing organizational culture have led to disagreement over the value and validity of such inquiry. METHODS. This paper reviews development of the concept of organizational culture and methods for assessing organizational culture, focusing on the healthcare environment. FINDINGS. Most work on organizational culture concerns the traditional corporation. Therefore, some adaptation to the central goals and focus of a human services organization are necessary before application to healthcare settings.

The Evolutionary History of Biosemiotics

Abstract: Having spent the last six years in regular correspondence with the world’s small but steadily growing population of “biosemioticians,” I feel warranted in saying of this diverse group of molecular biologists, neuroscientists, zoologists, anthropologists, psychologists and philosophers, that while each one more or less found their way into this common project alone – proceeding from vastly different starting points and through drastically varying routes – it might yet not be too broad a claim to say that a growing discontent with what was being offered as (or in lieu of) “explanation” regarding the nature of empirically observed, real-world sign processes in their respective fields of origin appears to be the single most common impetus setting the majority of these researchers on their respective paths to what has now converged to become the growing interdisciplinary project of biosemiotics. Indeed, my own entry into this field came as the result of my growing discontent with the inability of cognitive neuroscience to confront issues of experiential “meaning” at the same level that it was so successful in, and manifestly committed to studying the mechanics of those very same electro-chemical transmission events by which such meanings were being asserted (but not explained) to, be produced. For the 1990s were declared (by fiat of an actual act of Congress) to be “The Decade of the Brain” in the United States – and, reservations about the seriousness of such self-aggrandizing hyperbole aside, this period did indeed see a great explosion of ideas and energy emanating out of such newly minted hybrid research projects

Human Development in the Life Course: Melodies of Living

Abstract: Preface: from dispute to collaboration Introduction: melodies of living Part I. Time for Development: 1. Solidity of science and fullness of living: a theoretical expose 2. Imagination and the life course 3. Moving through time: imagination and memory as semiotic processes 4. Models of time for the life course Part II. Spaces for Development: 5. Social framing of lives: from phenomena to theories 6. Stability and innovation in adults narrating their lives: insights from psychotherapy research 7. Paradoxes of learning Part III. Beyond Time and Space: Imagination: 8. We are migrants! 9. Playing while being serious: the lifelong game of development - and its tools 10. Playing under the influence: activity contexts in their social functions 11. 'Old age' as living forward 12. Epilogue: the course of life as a melody.