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Surviving a Natural Disaster as a Semiotic Reformation of the Self and Worldview

De Gruyter
Semiotica
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Nimrod Delante at Nanyang Technological University
Nimrod Delante
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Abstract

Theoretically, this study is framed within the semiotic tradition of communication theory, which theorizes communication as the intersubjective mediation by signs. Methodologically, this study is guided by Peirce’s semiotic ideas, especially his writing about the commens and commind, or the sign and the object, and the power of a community (constitutive of the self as researcher and the self as one with participants) as the final interpretant performing the process of sensemaking. Results showed how the survivors of a natural calamity symbolically interacted with such calamity, and how this led to a reformation of the way they view themselves and the world. The survivors’ symbolic images captured in narratives, in sketches and drawings, and in poetry helped them to reframe their sense of self and their worldview by believing in common sense and intuition, and by valuing the power of courage, initiative, preparedness, hope, and resilience. An unfortunate irony emerged in their symbolic interaction with the disaster such that their sinning and self-inflicted blame made them think they were worthy of punishment. Nonetheless, this unfortunate irony will change if the survivors continue to reflect on their civic roles, interrogate their environmental and political contexts, and expand their awareness and social consciousness. As these unfold, the survivors will be able to accomplish empowerment, emancipation, and an independent mind.
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Surviving a natural disaster as a semiotic
reformation of the self and worldview
Nimrod L. Delante
From the journal Semiotica
https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2018-0130
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Abstract
Theoretically, this study is framed within the semiotic tradition of
communication theory, which theorizes communication as the
intersubjective mediation by signs. Methodologically, this study is guided
by Peirce’s semiotic ideas, especially his writing about
the commens and commind, or the sign and the object, and the power of a
community (constitutive of the self as researcher and the self as one with
participants) as the final interpretant performing the process of
sensemaking. Results showed how the survivors of a natural calamity
symbolically interacted with such calamity, and how this led to a
reformation of the way they view themselves and the world. The survivors’
symbolic images captured in narratives, in sketches and drawings, and in
poetry helped them to reframe their sense of self and their worldview by
believing in common sense and intuition, and by valuing the power of
courage, initiative, preparedness, hope, and resilience. An unfortunate irony
emerged in their symbolic interaction with the disaster such that their
sinning and self-inflicted blame made them think they were worthy of
punishment. Nonetheless, this unfortunate irony will change if the
survivors continue to reflect on their civic roles, interrogate their
environmental and political contexts, and expand their awareness and
social consciousness. As these unfold, the survivors will be able to
accomplish empowerment, emancipation, and an independent mind.
Keywords: interpretant; natural disaster; Peircean semiotics; reformation of
the self; semiotic tradition of communication
theory; signs; symbols; worldview
Corresponding author: Nimrod L. Delante, James Cook University
Australia – Singapore Campus, 149 Sims Drive, Singapore, Singapore, E-
mail: nimrod.delante@jcu.edu.au
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Semiotics 2021: The year in review
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This monograph is about the semiotics of lexical signs, and is of particular interest for historical linguists, in particular those interested in etymology. Specialists in linguistic change have long noticed that certain classes of words seem to be in part exempt from regular patterns of sound change, or perhaps more likely to undergo unusual analogical shifts. The problem is far worse for the etymologist, since the lexicon of every language contains some hundreds of semiotically problematic vocables which must, if the etymological dictionaries are ever to be completed, be explained somehow. Always been struck by the sheer capriciousness of etymologies in which some sort of unusual form-meaning relations are involved, the author, with the help of C.S. Peirce, provides answers to crucial questions in his search to make sense of those capricious etymologies.
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