The Problem of Meaning in the Semiotics of Money
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: the article summarizes the main approaches to solving the problem of the meaning of money. The semiotics of money is considered in the context of its connection with natural language and in the context of its existence as a cultural symbol. The aim of the work is to find grounds for resolving the contradiction in the theory of the meaning of money. Firstly, in the classical interpretation, the meaning of money is all objects and actions that have quantitative value. Secondly, the modern virtual functioning of money implies the idea that it is a simulacrum, an unbacked and self-referential sign. Thus, the meaning of money is indicated in focus from nothing to everything. The research methodology is based on the principles of pragmatic semiotics. In accordance with these principles, it is necessary to distinguish three levels of the semiosis of money: semantics, pragmatics and syntactics. The article shows that the two extreme approaches outlined reduce the semantics of money to either the syntactic or the pragmatic aspect. Both approaches contain the idea of a financial world conceptualized in Platonic terms. The author attempts to substantiate a synthetic approach, within which money is not self-referent, but at the same time does not refer to objective reality.
Source: Semiotic studies
Author: Anton Nikitin
Institution: Katanov Khakass State University
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4410090024