| Abstrakt: |
The more individuals in a community interact, the more there is a common perception about things and facts, which gain an own signification. Thus, the objectiveness of physical reality is covered by semiosis, that is, by the process of producing signs. Signs therefore come to represent the several aspects of human life. And culture sprouts from the not-always-peaceful relationship between reality and its symbols. The search for the semantic content of ˵culture″ is a tall order due to the multiple meanings that can be attributed to the word ˵culture″. One is left with the impression that one has been dealt the joker from a deck of cards, and just like the joker, the term ˵culture″ is always changing its value – or in this case, its meaning – according to its combination with other words in the same ˵hand″. A word such as ˵culture″ has the feature of being applicable in diverse contexts and circumstances. However, this apparent flexibility in usage, does not exempt us from allocating meaning to the word. Two basic concepts of ˵culture″ retrieve from this relationship certain aspects that the semiotic approach cannot ignore. In this chapter we discuss a specific kind of sign production and interaction taking place within the boundaries of ˵legal culture″. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
