Wrestling with Meaning

Philosophy vs Work

Welcome to the next arc (next chapter?) of Philosophy vs Work! From here, we start unpacking Semiotics, Myth, and Utopia - starting with an unpacking of what is semiotics? - and the role utopias and utopian thought play in thinking about work, in how these utopias and work have been mythologized, and how these mythologized words shape how we think and even what we’re potentially capable of thinking.
In this episode: Roland Barthes' Mythologies, semiotics, myth as speech, professional/amateur wrestling, Lincoln, and Republicans.
*Note* This episode was written and recorded before the recent Trump rally shooting, and in no way condones either the actions of the shooter or the ensuing rhetoric of the far right. The intent to use "Lincoln" as an example of myth-speech was timed to line up with the RNC.
Recommended links:
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/republican-party-platform-1860
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Kansas_Nebraska_Act.htm
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Democratic-Party
https://lincolnproject.us/
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/bar1796t.asp
Obligatory bibliography, or books (and articles) you may also want to check out:
Amit E, Hoeflin C, Hamzah N, Fedorenko E. “An Asymmetrical Relationship Between Verbal and Visual Thinking: Converging Evidence from Behavior and fMRI.” Neuroimage. 2017 May 15. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5448978/
Barthes, Roland. 2012. Mythologies 1st American ed. New York: Hill and Wang.
Bolger, Eileen. “Naturalization Process in U.S.: Early History” https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/federal/naturalization-process-in-u-s-early-history
The Barbary Treaties 1786-1816. “Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Signed at Tripoli November 4, 1796” Translated Joel Barlow, 1797.
“Visual thinking” Wikipedia. Silverman, Linda Kreger (2005), Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual-Spatial Learner, Maria J. Krabbe Foundation for Visual Thinking.

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