RITA MASCIALINO

1
RITA MASCIALINO

• THE MEANING OF LANGUAGE
• IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF
• DYNAMIC SPATIALITY

2
Abstract

• Scientific background of the hypothesis
• Hypothesis concerning the spatial analysis of the
  meaning of language
• Discussion of the hypothesis by means of the
  analysis and interpretation of the dynamic
  spatiality intrinsic to Aphorism 1 by Franz
  Kafka, including a comparison with current
  interpretations and translations
• Conclusions.

3
1. Scientific background

• - Broad scientific background
• Evolution, semiotics
• - Specific scientific background
• Basic neurophysiology (unconscious and conscious
  brain, space processing, language)

4
Not only a historical perspective upon the
meaning of language

• The historical perspective upon language refers
  to the surface of semiosis
• At the root of semiosis there are the various
  forms of adaptations to life produced by
  evolution starting from the most ancient time,
  where no language was there, where other animals
  different from humans were there, where bacteria
  were there as evolution produces change by
  building novelty upon the previous older
  structures which are not utterly eliminated by
  the new ones, more recent developments and
  semioses bring with them the trace of their
  ancient origin which can be identified through
  the various biological sciences and also through
  the analysis of the cultural development,
  eminently through the analysis of language
• Space processing, originating life unavoidably in
  an environment, is one of the most ancient and
  unfailing forms of adaptation selected by the
  environment as such, it is also at the basis of
  any semiotic process since this has to be fit to
  the environment

5
Not only a historical perspective upon the
meaning of language

• Language is the most recent sign system produced
  by the human brain sounds, rhythm, words and
  syntax build its historical structures the
  spatial processing of experience carried by
  language builds its deep structures
• The spatial skeleton of semiosis builds itself at
  an unconscious level language is eminently there
  to make the unconscious level of semiosis
  conscious, in other words expressing words is
  the final conscious act of an unconscious brain
  work of projecting experience as adaptation
• This most complex intersection of unconsciousness
  and consciousness which is intrinsic to the most
  various elaborations of semiosis from the most
  concrete level to the most abstract and symbolic
  one, reflects itself on language as its basis
  this intersection can be caught on an objective
  niveau by going beyond the historical surface of
  meaning and by identifying the objective spatial
  net carried by language, in other words by the
  spatialization of language.

6
2. Hypothesis concerning the spatial
investigation of the meaning of language

• Hypothesis
• The present hypothesis (Mascialino 1997 and ff.)
  is finalized to provide text analysis with an
  objective basis. It centers upon the
  spatialization of any experience as space
  processing is considered to be the skeleton of
  the objective structures of semiosis, of ancient
  and evolved sign systems, of language, both at an
  unconscious and conscious level. Core of the
  hypothesis is the reconstruction of the spatial
  structure of semiosis and experience carried by
  words.
• Key concepts or technical terms of the hypothesis
  (meqrima 1997 and ff.)
• Dynamic spatiality Endospatial scheme
  Exospatial scheme Endoplot Exoplot.

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Points of reference for the keywords

• The dynamic spatiality refers to the general
  spatial skeleton of experience carried by
  language both at a unconscious and conscious
  level, at an explicit and implicit level
• The exospatial scheme refers to the dynamic
  spatiality specifically intrinsic to the actions
  expressed by verbs, subjects, objects and syntax
  
• The endospatial scheme refers to the dynamic
  spatiality specifically intrinsic to the motions
  supporting the actions expressed by verbs,
  subjects, objects and syntax
• The exoplot and the endoplot respectively
  refer to the whole of the exo- and endospatial
  schemes when forming a meaningful context.

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3. Discussion Franz Kafkas Aphorism 1

• Original German text of Aphorism 1
• (Ich irre ab.)
• Der wahre Weg geht über ein Seil, das nicht in
  der Höhe gespannt ist, sondern knapp über dem
  Boden. Es scheint mehr bestimmt stolpern zu
  machen, als begangen zu werden.
• The linguistic forms highlighted in crimson are
  the main object for the analysis of the
  aphorisms meaning. The bracketed sentence
  belongs to the original text of Kafka. It has
  generally been arbitrarily eliminated in all
  editions concerning Kafkas aphorisms, therefore
  the brackets.

9
A preliminary note about interpreting original
and translated texts

• By a native reader, texts are interpreted on a
  unique linguistic level. The reader can
  understand them or not.
• By a foreign reader, texts are interpreted on an
  interlinguistic or double level. The reader can
  understand them or not.
• By a reader of translations, texts are
  interpreted on a unique linguistic level, that of
  the readers language
• If the translator has understood the original
  text, the reader can understand the text of the
  translation or not
• If the translator has not understood the original
  text he has translated, the reader cannot in any
  case understand the meaning of the original text.
  In this case, the activity of translating foreign
  texts will make no sense.
• Aphorism 1 by F. Kafka is an example of how a
  text can be misunderstood Its meaning seems to
  be simple only if one does not understand the
  problems it harbors, as we are going to see.

10
Analysis of the dynamic spatiality intrinsic to
the meaning of Aphorism 1 First premise Dynamic
spatiality of the true way

• Basic spatiality of the way 1.concretely, a
  way has a spatiality of connecting places
  2.metaphorically, a way has a spatiality of
  connecting concepts or abstract qualities
• Basic spatiality of the true way
  metaphorically, the true way leads to the
  abstract quality of truth grammatically, the
  true way is the subject of the sentence, i.e.,
  the walker who accomplishes the action of going
  to truth is metaphorically and grammatically the
  true way itself.

11
Analysis of the dynamic spatiality intrinsic to
Aphorism 1 Second premise Dynamic spatiality of
the rope

• Basic spatiality of a rope 1.concretely, it
  essentially has a spatiality of constriction and
  of hindering motions of things as well as of
  living beings it can be a sign for No
  thoroughfare, or can be an obstacle to be jumped
  over, or can be used as a hidden trap for
  tripping over, or can be a tightrope for a
  tightrope walker 2.metaphorically, it can be all
  this on the abstract level of thought, in the
  specific context it has the spatiality of a trap
  on the true way, i.e., on the way to truth
• Basic spatiality of the rope 1. concretely, it
  has the spatiality of a rope put transversally on
  the true way in order to make stumble 2.
  metaphorically, it has the spatiality of a moral
  stumbling

12
Linguistic expressions of Aphorism 1 which carry
a complex spatiality

• The linguistic expressions which are considered
  to be more relevant to the meaning of the piece
  and which will be therefore analysed in this
  presentation according to their dynamic
  spatiality are the following ones
• geht über ein Seil
• stolpern
• begangen zu werden
• (Ich irre ab.)

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Dynamic spatiality intrinsic to the meaning of
the linguistic form highlighted in crimson

• 1. geht über ein Seil
• The verb gehen über acc. represents a motion
  from one place to another by passing over or
  across something the two places expressed by
  gehen über acc. in the context are the two
  parts into which the true way is divided by a
  transversal rope the action of gehen über acc.
  means the walker, specifically the way itself
  which is the subject of the verb, is going from
  one half of the way to the other by advancing
  across or over or beyond a transversal rope
  gehen über acc. Does not and cannot mean to go
  along.
• Goal directed motion
  
  Goal directed action
• endospatial scheme
  
  exospatial scheme

TRUE WAY
ROPE
14
Dynamic spatiality intrinsic to the meaning of
the linguistic form highlighted in crimson

• 2. stolpern
• stolpern means to stumble, to trip over, in the
  case at issue to stumble over a transversal
  rope metaphorically, in the specific context of
  general moral principles such as truth and
  deception, good and evil, stolpern means also to
  commit something wrong walkers including the
  true way itself can stumble over the rope.
• Goal directed motion
  
  Goal directed action endospatial scheme
  
  exospatial
  scheme

TRUE WAY
ROPE
15
Dynamic spatiality intrinsic to the meaning of
the linguistic form highlighted in crimson

• 3. begangen zu werden
• The verb begehen acc. is the transitive form
  of gehen, to go. Consequently, the basic dynamic
  spatiality of begehen is that of a transit
  through a place and within a place without any
  obstacles and in any direction, e.g. Der Weg
  ist begehbar, The way is transitable, i.e.,
  one can transit or go on and over it
  metaphorically, the spatiality refers to feasts
  which are celebrated, to crimes and sins which
  are committed, this in the spatial original sense
  of a trans-gressing intended as a possible and
  free transit into crime and the like begehen
  does not mean to go along as a motion parallel
  to something.
• Goal directed motion
  
  Goal directed action
• endospatial scheme
  
  exospatial scheme

TRUE WAY
ROPE
16
Dynamic spatiality intrinsic to the meaning of
the linguistic form highlighted in crimson

• 4. (Ich irre ab.)
• abirren is a verb composed by irren, to wander
  and the preposition ab, which means separation,
  therefore the meaning of deviating, of separating
  in the sense of interrupting the advancement on
  a way in order to take a different direction
  metaphorically, irren means to be mistaken
  according to the spatiality of not knowing where
  to go, and abirren means to separate oneself from
  a direction and to wander without knowing the
  direction, i.e., to loose the way, to leave the
  right way, concepts coherently linked to the
  spatiality of stolpern and of begehen.
• Goal directed motion
  
  Goal directed action endospatial scheme
  
  exospatial scheme

TRUE WAY
ROPE
17
First schematic meaning of Aphorism 1 according
to its dynamic spatiality

• The true way is the way of and to truth truth is
  generally considered a main value as well as a
  difficult goal in human life this implies the
  presence of some not easy tests to be faced by
  humanity on the way to truth on the contrary, in
  Aphorism 1 the true way does not harbor any
  obstacles, but only a hidden trap to stumble and
  fall
• Being the true way the subject of the verb gehen
  über, it is the true way itself which can stumble
  over the trap it harbors in itself and by so
  doing it does not advance to its goal the place
  where truth stays, i.e., truth

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First schematic meaning of Aphorism 1 according
to its dynamic spatiality

1. Possible walkers who stumble and fall, including
   the true way, want to reach truth, but they do
   not get aware of the trap and can stumble thus,
   because of the stumbling, they cannot transit to
   truth nevertheless, having not seen the trap,
   they obviously do not deviate because of the trap
   and so, after stumbling, they do not reach truth,
   but remain on the true way
2. As to the walker who wants to reach truth and
   gets aware of the deception, he does not want to
   stumble and fall, therefore he avoids stumbling
   by deviating so he abandons the true way and by
   so doing he not only renounces to truth, but he
   is also excluded from the true way
3. As the spatiality of the metaphorical verb
   abirren-to deviate from the direction-to loose
   the right way shows, the deviation of the walker
   is considered to be a fault

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First schematic meaning of Aphorism 1 according
to its dynamic spatiality

• We have got now a first approximated
  understanding of the meaning of Aphorism 1. We
  could be satisfied with the meaning of Aphorism 1
  as it is officially understood. But if we see the
  very complex problems that are in Kafkas text
  and which do not find any clarification in the
  level of spatialization achieved till now, we
  cannot be satisfied with a meaning which seems to
  be too banal for it to be a meaning produced by
  Kafka. Therefore, we must spatially go more
  deeply into the text in order to clarify the
  mentioned problems we have seen, and this is what
  we are going to do.

20
Exegetic problems in Aphorism 1 by Franz Kafka

• The main exegetic problems intrinsic to the
  interpretation of Aphorism 1, refer to the
  spatiality of the verb a. begehen, of the verb b.
  stolpern and of the verb c. abirren, which all
  three imply the meaning of fault
• a. The common meaning of begehen is that of
  transiting over a place but also that of
  committing something wrong or of celebrating a
  feast in the context of the aphorism, passing
  over the rope to reach truth coincides with a
  transgression, as though aiming to truth were a
  transgression and were a transgression to be
  committed The rope has the aim to be passed
  over/trans-gressed, but seems not to be there to
  be passed over, to be trans-gressed or make
  commit its trans-gression as it should be, but
  seems to be there to only make stumble
• b. The verb stolpern metaphorically refers to
  committing a fault and the committing a fault by
  stumbling avoids prosecuting on the way to truth,
  and by so doing it also avoids committing the
  trans-gression of or passing over the rope,
  therefore
• We are in front of something which has a
  contradictory surface the stumbling is the
  effect of a fault which avoids passing over the
  rope or committing the fault of going over the
  rope, and the possible walkers should also commit
  a fault if they would pass over the rope without
  stumbling, this because the rope is there to be
  transited/trans-gressed
• c. The verb abirren means to deviate, to loose
  the direction, but metaphorically also to loose
  the right way, so that the deviating walker, who
  would go over/trans-gress the rope in order to
  achieve truth, but does not want to stumble and
  fall, i.e., does not want to commit the fault of
  stumbling, in any case commits a fault, that of
  deviating, of loosing the right way
• Thus, there are a three faults b. that of
  stumbling, a. that of passing over the rope and
  c. that of not wanting to commit both faults of
  stumbling and passing over the rope by deviating
  latter seems to be the greatest fault because it
  excludes the protagonist not only from truth, but
  also from the way to truth.

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Solutions of the problems intrinsic to Aphorism 1
by Franz Kafka according to its dynamic spatiality

• Resuming As passing over the rope to reach truth
  is trans-gressing the rope, i.e., committing the
  fault concerning the will to achieve truth, it is
  to understand 1.) why the will to truth can be a
  fault
• 1.) Truth is the main goal of intelligence and
  knowledge, and intelligence and knowledge have no
  moral values in themselves, it is the use of
  truth, intelligence and knowledge that can be
  moral or not, therefore the will to truth as a
  goal of intelligence and knowledge can be put on
  the same level or equalized with a will to power
  which is separated from any moral value the
  achievement of truth in its absoluteness, i.e.,
  truth as the place to which the true way leads,
  requires a behaviour which does not make
  compromises, i.e., a behaviour which never
  stumbles and falls, i.e., which has an elegant
  concrete and metaphorical step the presence and
  possibility of stumbling and falling put the true
  way, i.e., truth, within a more humble level
  where the inelegance of weakness can be accepted
  

22
Solutions of the problems intrinsic to Aphorism 1
by Franz Kafka according to its dynamic spatiality

• Resuming As deviating in order not to stumble
  and fall, i.e., not to committing a fault, and
  renouncing to transgressing the rope, i.e., to
  committing a trans-gression in order to achieve
  truth, is also a fault, it is to understand 2.)
  why not committing faults is a fault itself
• 2.) If a walker will reach truth as the final
  goal of the true way without accepting a possible
  stumbling, he will reach truth separated from a
  more human vision of life if he renounces to
  this truth because of the possible failure, he
  renounces to a more human vision of life, a
  vision which lacks faults, but lacks also
  comprehension and compassion for human weakness.
  

23
Deep meaning of Aphorism 1 according to its
dynamic spatiality

• As those who stumble, including the true way, do
  not deviate and so doing do not loose the right
  way but remain on it with the fault of having
  stumbled, the right way implicitly results in
  Aphorism 1 to be that of accepting the humble
  human condition of stumbling and falling, whereas
  who does not accept the stumbling and abandons
  the way of and to truth or does not enter the
  true way, looses the right way which is that of
  more human values which accept weakness
  consequently, the values of life do not consist
  in Aphorism 1 in the ambitious will to know truth
  which is both a main goal of intelligence and no
  ethical value knowledge and truth have no
  moral value thus, the true values the
  deviating walker implicitly looses by deviating
  are to be found in the refusal of an intelligence
  and a truth which are separated from a more human
  vision of life.

24
Short example of a cultural note founded on the
dynamic spatiality implicit to the meaning
carried by language

• To the dynamic spatiality intrinsic to the above
  implicit refusal of the value of intelligence in
  favour of more human principles, is implicit
  Kafkas refusal of the 1.) German culture, of 2.)
  the German language and the 3.) humanization of
  the figure of the devil
• 1.) The German culture focuses upon the concept
  of Leistung, of a superior performance of
  intelligence without compassion intended as
  weakness, as the model of the overman shows
  Kafka saves human weakness and gives it the right
  to stay on the true way
• 2.) German is pre-eminently a language of
  logical superiority its drastically hierarchical
  syntax shows this it is a language where there
  is very little place for exceptions, i.e.,
  consideration of particular cases the world of
  concepts and emotion dresses German in Kafka and
  Kafka has deeply felt the beauty intrinsic to the
  logical power of German as his writing show, has
  felt also its risks and has condemned it
• 3.) In the context of moral principles within
  which the aphorism moves, the spatiality of
  stolpern implicitly associates the spatiality of
  the devil, from Greek díabállo, to transversally
  throw something making stumble and dividing from
  the goal to be achieved if the devil in the
  Garden of Eden is a negative symbol because he
  makes stumble Eve and Adam making them be driven
  out the Garden and loose immortality, in Kafkas
  true way he on the one side continues making
  stumble, but in so doing he implicitly becomes a
  positive instrument of humanization, because he
  hinders the trans-gression of the rope and with
  it the whole negative symbolism we have seen
  through the spatialization of its meaning.

25
Short example of a biographical note founded on
the dynamic spatiality carried by language

• Kafkas implicit full refusal of the German
  culture and first of all of the German language
  finds an explicit expression in 1.) his last
  desire and in 2.) his relation to his mother
• 1.) If he could have recovered, he would have
  gone to Palestine in order to do the job of a
  waiter, i.e., of a servant of his people, of a
  man who comes back to the true way and accepts
  falling down, for he accepts a more human vision
  of life, which does not consist in the
  superiority of an intelligence separated from
  ethical principles, but in love and service to
  humanity, as the job symbolizes being the job of
  a man who gives his people the concrete and
  symbolic food for a life worth to be lived
• 2.) He said he could not love his mother and all
  the world of values delivered in general by his
  mother because of the German name Mutti for mum,
  which delivered German values he would have
  preferred the sweet Jewish word ima, with its
  Jewish values not because they were of Jewish
  origin, but because they were more human.

26
Italian immanent translation of Aphorism 1
(by Rita Mascialino)

• (Io devio.)
• La vera via va oltre una corda che non è tesa
  in alto, ma appena sopra il suolo. Sembra
  destinata più a fare inciampare che ad essere
  oltrepassata.
• The verb va oltre utterly corresponds to the
  German geht über in the sense of going over
  oltrepassare means to transit, but also to
  transgress a set limit, therefore the above
  translation has saved something of the meaning of
  to commit intrinsic to the original German verb
  begehen gehen über and begehen have a common
  part in gehen, andare oltre e oltrepassare have a
  common part in oltre besides, the verb gehen
  über and begehen refer to the same action of
  going across and over, so as andare oltre and
  oltrepassare.

27
Falsification of the dynamic spatiality intrinsic
to the following linguistic forms in current
interpretations and translations

• über das Seil interpreted as along the rope
• If the rope would lay along the true
  way, it would be parallel to the true way, but in
  this case there should not be gehen über acc.
  in German, which means a motion to, but another
  preposition for a motion within a place, i.e., a
  position Der Mann geht auf der Straße (he goes
  up and down, but always remains on the same
  place, i.e., on the street) besides, stumbling
  or tripping of walkers would be impossible with
  along, requiring stumbling or tripping the
  spatiality of a more or less perpendicularly
  intersecting motion and not that of a parallel
  motion.
• Seil interpreted as a tightrope
• If the rope would be a tightrope for a
  tightrope walker, there could not be an
  accusative, because it would be a motion within
  the same place and there would be no change of
  place, but a position, not a motion to, and
  another preposition as follows Der wahre Weg
  geht auf einem Seil besides, the tightrope could
  not lay just over the ground, otherwise it would
  be a tightrope used as a normal rope and the
  spatiality of a tightrope would be useless.

28
Falsification of the dynamic spatiality intrinsic
to relevant linguistic forms in current
interpretations

• Seil interpreted as a tripwire
• If the rope would be a tripwire, this
  would implicitly carry with itself the spatiality
  of a bomb or of a military action, which is
  utterly absent in the context.
• begangen zu werden interpreted as to be walked
  along/(up)on
• With the preposition along there is a
  contradiction with an impossible stumbling as
  above with the preposition (up)on there is the
  spatiality of a tightrope used as a normal rope
  as above or the spatiality of an absurd walking
  the transversal tightrope most important, the
  complex meaning of to commit, in which the most
  relevant concept consists, is utterly lost.

29
Schematic meaning of Aphorism 1 according to
current interpretations

• In almost all interpretations, there is a rope
  which goes along the true way, i.e., there are a
  true way and a rope which advance parallel to
  each other
• No reason can be found in the context why the
  true way runs along a rope, so that the
  conceptual area for true way and rope becomes
  absurd
• No stumbling of the true way over the rope being
  possible, the whole area intrinsic to the concept
  of true way and truth in the original German text
  is swept away
• The spatiality of the verb begangen zu werden
  becoming that of walking along (parallel motion)
  or walking (up)on (tightrope walker), the above
  absurdity is reinforced and the deep meaning of
  the aphorism is swept away

30
Schematic meaning of Aphorism 1 according to
current interpretation

1. Seldom, geht über is interpreted with goes over,
   where the spatiality of stumbling is maintained,
   but at the end being the verb begangen zu werden
   in any case always interpreted as to be walked
   along or (up)on, there is not only the loss of
   extraordinary meaning, but also again absurdity
   There would be a rope set just above the ground
   for stumbling and suddenly walked along as a rope
   parallel to the walker or walked (up)on as an
   absurd transversal tightropesee also presence
   of accusative in the German original text which
   eliminates the walking on.
2. Interpreters generally do not consider the first
   sentence of Aphorism 1 concerning the deviation
   as belonging to the text of the aphorism and
   arbitrarily do not quote it in the collections of
   Kafkas aphorisms as well as in their
   interpretations consequently, since the first
   sentence on the contrary and most relevantly
   belongs to the conceptual area of Aphorism 1 in
   Kafkas thought, the original meaning results
   decapitated and increasing confusion in
   comprehension cannot be avoided.

31
Conclusions

• Most scholars write in their studies no meaning
  would be at disposal in Kafkas language for a
  logical interpretation, being Kafka an author of
  the absurd. If one remains on the surface of
  meaning, then Kafkas language can be a language
  of the absurd. But if one undertakes an objective
  analysis, then Kafkas language proves to be
  utterly logical even though so complex that its
  interpretation requires a subtile inferential
  work of investigation. We have seen how the
  investigation of language done through the
  identification of the dynamic spatiality at the
  basis of meaning (Mascialino 1997 and ff.) can
  give an objective instrument to identify meaning
  at the conscious and unconscious level, at the
  explicit and implicit level. Thanks to the
  spatialization of meaning (Mascialino 1997 and
  ff.) also psychoanalysis can get the objective
  basis it lacks for its investigations to be no
  more subjective. Thanks to the identification of
  the dynamic spatiality of language falsifications
  and verifications of interpretations are possible
  on an objective basis and also the influence of
  the historical background does not run the risk
  to be invented.