Language Structure, Mimesis, and the Romantic Sublime

Defining Human Language and Linguistic Signs

Human language is defined as a system of socially produced signs, a structure established to represent and communicate. A sign is composed of two inseparable parts:

• Signifier: The perceived form of the sign (sound or graphic image).
• Signified (Significance): What the sign represents.

In communication, a sign is produced and received by a user (transmitter/receiver). The study of language involves several key areas:

• Syntax: The study of combinations of signifiers.
• Semantics: Focuses on the study of the meaning of linguistic signs.
• Pragmatics: Interested in language use, specifically the relationship established between the utterance and context.

Linguistic signs are characterized by the following basic features:

1. Double articulation (elements without meaning and meaningful units).
2. Medium or channel.
3. Creativity.
4. Conventionality.
5. Travel (Displacement).
6. Dialogue.
7. Self-reference.

Historical Perspectives on Aesthetics

Greek Aesthetics: Beauty as Objective Property

For the Greeks, beauty is an objective property. This property is the harmony of forms, characterized by:

• Clear delineation of boundaries.
• Ratios of parts reducible to mathematical relationships.
• Graceful symmetry and harmony born from the relationship between the parts.

This property is transcendental, meaning beauty is an inherent property of all existing objects, whether natural or man-made. Art for the Greeks is fundamentally imitation (mimesis).

Christian Aesthetics: God as the Artist

Christianity views God and creation as a vast work of art. God is the artist who created the form and matter of the world. The forms of nature are the material embodiment of the divine designs held in the divine mind. In Christianity, the aesthetic experience tends to be intertwined with the religious experience.

Neoclassical Aesthetics: Taste and Social Distinction

The neoclassical artistic sensibility dictates that the enjoyment of art is the heritage of the educated class, often associated with the Enlightenment heritage, accessible only to those who can afford it. The implication is clear: good taste and art are privileges for the wealthy, serving as a social mark of distinction and a matter of refined taste.

Romantic Aesthetics and the Sublime

The concept of the Sublime is central to Romanticism. The sublime spirit pervades what captures the individual with such violence that it produces a kind of annihilation, an inability to react, leaving the individual in awe of the overwhelming power and beauty. The sublime is justified even if it does not submit to rule or measure.

Despite its violence, the sublime is often described as attractive, seductive, and even trickster-like. Romantic art presents nature in all its violence and power. When tackling the issue of the human being, Romanticism often represents the dark side of life.

Contemporary Aesthetics