Saussure, Ferdinand de
Saussure, Ferdinand de
Bio Sketch
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) was a Swiss linguist whose Course in General Linguistics (1916, posthumous) founded structuralism and modern semiotics. Saussure proposed that signs consist of signifier (sound-image) and signified (concept), related arbitrarily. His synchronic approach to language influenced anthropology (Lévi-Strauss), psychoanalysis (Lacan), and architectural theory in the 1980s.
Key Works
- Course in General Linguistics (1916, posthumous)
Key Concepts
- semiotics
- structuralism
- signifier-signified
Relevance to Geoffrey's Research
Saussure's structuralism dominated architectural discourse in the 1980s but is critiqued by Peirce's alternative semiotics. Understanding Saussure is essential for grasping the shift to poststructuralism and deconstruction.