Je Suis un Système

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Revision as of 15:54, 25 April 2008

To make the statement "I am a system" immediately presupposes a semiotic definition of being. Not only does it put forth the presupposition of 'I' in a relation of difference alongside 'you', 'us' or 'they', but it also identifies itself as absorbed a priori in some sort of linguistic system well before it is ever deconstructed based on its constituent parts. 'I am a system' stands in a relation of difference to ', just as it is distinguished from an image painted on a canvas or a gesture made with one's face or hands.

Furthermore, 'Je suis un systeme' not only conveys the thought that the speaker/writer is purporting that he/she exists only as part of a system, but also evokes the various connotations associated with the French language (foreign-ness, eloquence, snobbery?). Not only is the 'Je' situated within a linguistic system of syntax and semantics, but a pre-existing, although not entirely separate, constellation of semiotic meaning as well - that being, the cultural connotations of what it means to speak the French language. Therefore, our propensity to communicate (through language, image, gesture) presupposes that we are inherently and inevitably systemic.

If there were to exist an individual or group of individuals who actively resist language (perhaps they do not speak, or are not allowed to speak), they are thus defined by those who speak about them. This can be a willing 'self-definition' or an unwilling 'forced defintion', but nevertheless, by not speaking, they are absorbed into other's linguistic system (or systems) and are defined as such.

If there were to exist inviduals who do not speak and of which no one speaks about, they may be isolated, but are not unsystematic. Mental systems of representation exist that differentiate oneself from other people and objects. Consciously ignoring the realms of abnormal and developmental psychology, the universal act of situating oneself in the world cannot help but paralell the aforementioned linguistic distinctions. These differences surround us and penetrate our thought processes and mental representaions.

Therefore, to state 'I am a system' is as simple as saying "I exist"; or better yet, "J'existe".