The Logic of the Symbol

Abstract

1. Formulation of the problem. Anyone who has studied the history of philosophy or aesthetics with any attention must recognize that in the course of his research, he often encounters certain terms which are usually considered to be generally understood and which can be translated into any other language without much difficulty through the use of the same word in every case. For the most part we use these terms without any analysis; and if we encounter them in classical philosophy, we often continue to use them for a long time in modern languages in their Greek or Latin form. Some examples of such terms are the words "structure," "element," "idea," "form," "text," and "context." However, the illusion that they are generally understood begins to break down gradually when we study texts of classical literature, and the scholar is often obliged to abandon this illusion and subject many terms or concepts to special historical investigation. Among such terms is "symbol." What could be apparently simpler than t...