© Roger M Tagg 2016
Welcome to FROLIO – a new attempt to merge philosophy and the "semantic web" . This website is under continuing development.
This is essentially a text book for university students in English who need to learn to write 'good' essays. The 'how to plan and write' takes up most of the book, but I personally am more interested in 'analyzing' whatever text already exists.
Otherwise, it's all a bit like 'Creative Writing'.
The ideas put forward partly overlap with 'critical reading' (authors such as Denys Thompson), and partly with Rhetoric (authors such as Jennifer Richards). Also, IA Richards has written on both aspects.
The authors teach at the University of Western Georgia, USA.
| Chapter | Page | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
"In short, we are forever in an analytical frame of mind." [RT: I think 'forever' is an over-statement. I think that some times, we just like to stare and 'take it all in', without analyzing anything. Also, many people have not (yet?) developed very sophisticated analytical powers. They may be happy to fit each experience into the 'story' they have assimilated from parents, schoolmates, TV, newspapers, magazines and popular culture.] | |
| 2 | The authors' method is 'semiotic', i.e. based on signs and what those signs might suggest. [RT: similar to Ogden and Richards] | |
| Some examples of signs given in this book are traffic signs, road rules, someone driving a red Corvette, men who sport a goatee beard, men who wear their baseball hats with the peak sideways, African-American ladies with short haircuts, posters in students' bedrooms, enigmatic smiles, ladies wearing camouflage combat gear, etc. | ||
| 3 |
"... everything is a sign, because everything exists within a meaning-making system of some kind." [RT: I guess everything we perceive is a sign to which we can try to give meaning, either quickly and instinctively or more slowly by deliberate thinking about it. We also give signs, sometimes consciously but sometimes unconsciously. I suppose one example of a 'meaning-making system' is a 'language game'.] | |
| 10 | "... the implications of a semiotic theory ... deny the possibility of a 'final truth' about any social or literary phenomenon." [RT: I think this has to exclude Mathematics, where we define the concepts and rules.] | |
| "Such a pluralist model of thinking, however, also necessitates a level of comfort with multiplicity, ambiguity, paradox and incomplete comprehension." [RT: Yes, I would say that is how life is. But it doesn't match well with any sort of religious dogmatism.] | ||
| 23 | "All ads convey deep-seated social values and hidden assumptions. They carry invisible ideological messages and unspoken world views." [RT: Like, we would want to buy something we don't need because someone is offering 20% off, or 3 for the price of 2?] | |
| 44-5 | In writing, signs (the ones to be followed up in one's essay) should be selected according to the VOICE test: Visibility (readers can recognize it); Originality (it's something novel); Import (it's something that matters); Complexity (the answer isn't obvious); and Energy (discussing it will stir the spirits a bit). | |
| 52-3 | In planning to write something, a writer needs to create questions that can be addressed. | |
| 66-75 | A writer needs a 'star' sign, something that stands out. That could be an interesting environment or situation, or an open question that might challenge readers. | |
| 80-87 | There should be many level in depth of meaning, rather like an iceberg. [RT: I guess when one is reading something, one has to drill down to explore the deeper meanings.] | |
| 87-91 | Another slogan the authors propose is "Sign, Signals, Significance". | |
| 93-5 | The meaning of the same sign can change over time. | |
| 125-6 | The authors talk about a 3-i'ed monster: Idea, Illustration, Interpretation. | |
| 184- 202 |
The rest of the book contains lots of examples from PhDs or MAs. Topics include spectacle, advertisements, use of metaphor, gender, slang, 'tomorrow', consumption, beauty, captivity, disability. |
I think that most of the examples they show are what their students have written - under their supervision presumably! Learning their method might be most helpful if one wished to pass their course. If one is more concerned with analyzing what one reads or hears, one is not going to be reading or hearing something well constructed. One is more likely to have to look out for rhetorical 'tricks', arguments that don't follow, and attempts to appeal to the emotions that lurk beneath our intended analytical frame of mind.
Index to more highlights of interesting books
Some of these links may be under construction – or re-construction.
This version updated on 29th June 2016
If you have constructive suggestions or comments, please contact the author rogertag@tpg.com.au .