a brief discussion about what plato and fredinand de sassure are famous for.

1. Plato
and
Fredinand de sassure
-Mridu Agarwal
CD L1

2. Fredinand De Sassure – Quick Intro
• He was a Swiss linguist, where he was often referred
to as the founder of modern linguistics (study of
nature/structure and a variation of language).
• He is also known as one of the founder father of
semiotics.
• Wrote ’Course in General Linguistics’ - book. Here
he explained that there is a relationship between
speech and the development of
language, investigating language as a structured
system of signs.
• His study consisted of two part: concept of meaning
and sound image.

3. Course in general linguistic
“linguistic units”, “sound-images” and
”concepts” refers to the mental
processes that create these entities. It
doesn’t refer to spoken or written
words, but to the mental impressions
made on our senses by a certain
‘thing.’ It is our perception, or how we
view this ‘thing,’ together with the sound
system of our language that creates the
two-part mental linguistic unit referred
to as a ‘sign.’
For Example :

4. What is a signifier?
Signifier is the object itself.
It can be words, written or
oral. The brain then
exchange the signifier for
a working definition.
Signifier is also known as
the concept.
For example: Baking
associates with cakes,
Zombies with horror
films, social media with
facebook.

5. What is signified?
What the signifier refers to (what it connotes).
Here it points to the signified but has a
deeper meaning. It is also known as sound
image. A prime example of this can be seen
with vampires= scary, supernatural,
menacing, Dracula, bloodsucker, fangs.
Baking = Oven, dry heating, food.
Social media = facebook, twiiter, instagram.

7. Plato- Quick Introduction
Plato was a philosopher in Classical
Greece. He was also a
mathematician, student
of Socrates, writer of philosophical
dialogues, and founder of
the Academy in Athens, the first
institution of higher learning in
the Western world. Along with his
mentor, Socrates, and his most-
famous student, Aristotle, Plato
helped to lay the foundations
of Western
philosophy and science.

8. Famous for..
Plato wrote extensively and most of his writings survived.
His works are in the form of dialogues, where several
characters argue a topic by asking questions of each
other. This form allows Plato to raise various points of
view and let the reader decide which is valid. Plato
expounded a form of dualism, where there is a world of
ideal forms separate from the world of perception. The
most famous exposition of this is his metaphor of the
Cave, where people living in a cave are only able to see
flickering shadows projected on the wall of the external
reality. This influenced many later thinkers, particularly
the Neoplatonists and the Gnostics, and is similar to
views held by some schools of Hindu dualistic
metaphysics.

9. Early Dailogues
In these dialogues, Socrates is the central character,
and is believed to be expressing his own views.
These are the only remaining record of Socrates'
teachings; hence these are known as the Socratic
dialogues.
1. Apology (The death of Socorates)
2. Crito
3. Charmides, or temperance
4. Laches or courage
5. Lysis or friendship
6. Euthypro
7. Ion

10. Middle Dailogues
In these dialogues, Plato begins expressing his own views, in the
guise of Socrates. The Symposium and Republic are the most
important works in this period.
1. Gorgias
2. Protagoras
3. Meno
4. Euthydemus
5. Cratylus
6. Phaedo
7. Phaedrus
8. Symposium
9. The republic
10. Thaetetus
11. Parmenidus

11. Late Dailogues
The later dialogues are deeper developments of
the philosophy expressed in the earlier ones;
these are the most difficult of Plato's works.
1. Sophist
2. Statesman
3. Philebus
4. Timaeus
5. Critias
6. Laws
7. The seventh letter