How Useful Is état de langue for Biosemiotics? An Exploration of Linguistic Consciousness and Evolution in F. de Saussure’s Works

Abstract

In the field of biosemiotics in our time, Saussure’s theory of semiology has been dismissed for its glottocentric, anthropocentric, and dyadic characteristics and as such unsuitable for the said field. Such accusation is symptomatic of a narrow view of Saussure, which ignores the efforts he made in tackling problems concerning the unification of biology (natural sciences) and semiotics (human sciences). A broader view of Saussure, emerging from the newly-discovered orangery manuscripts along with his thought-provoking lectures, reveals that his epistemology is actually grounded upon evolutionary differences and the concept of uniformitarianism. This study points out how the network of differences, which Saussure proposes in his manuscripts, blurs disciplinary or systematic boundaries between language and nonverbal systems, and how it might serve as a framework for appreciating true analogies between natural sciences and the science of language. Moreover, Saussure’s concept of etat de langue is made comprehensive in relation to appropriations of the Darwinian model and Neo-Darwinian ideas. His model of evolution is seen to have amplified the phenomenon of symbiogenesis, which is non-linear, non-adaptive, non-restrictive as regards localities, yet claims certain truths about nature and culture. All in all, this study draws attention to the implications of conceptualizing non-linear evolution within and across systems.