What's in a Sign? A Challenge to Augustine’s Expressionist Semiotics

Expressionist semiotics is a philosophy of signs which claims that signs, like words, carry meanings independent of the signs themselves. The meaning exists before it is expressed, and the sign "carries" it like a basket holding apples; the sign is a mere tool for accessing and transferring an invisible reality. This theory shows up in both philosophy and theology, with roots in Augustine's On Christian Teaching and branching into modern linguistics, in thinkers like Saussure. It assumes that reality is prior to and independent of the signs used to describe it. This paper challenges that assumption. Thinkers like Johnson and Lakoff have shown that expressionism fails to explain key aspects of language use, and linguistic relativists have raised questions that expressionism cannot answer. However, a semiotic theory which refuses to divide sign and signified may resolve these problems. This paper suggests the signs we have and use create reality as we know it. Without signs for reality, humans would have no conception of it and no meaningful access to it. This articulation of semiotics has significant theological implications, such as offering a richer understanding of human participation in God through creation.