Science Quote by Walker Percy
““All arguments between the traditional scientific view of man as organism, a locus of needs and drives, and a Christian view of man as a spiritual being not only unresolvable at the present level of discourse but are also profoundly boring...From the scientific view at least, a new model of man is needed, something other than man conceived as a locus of bio-psycho-sociological needs and drives. Such an anthropological model might be provided by semiotics, that is, the study of man as the sign-using creature and, specifically, the study of the self and consciousness as derivatives of the sign-function.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez, 1985
The quote argues that traditional scientific models of humans as driven by needs are insufficient, urging a semiotic view that sees humans as sign‑using beings with consciousness emerging from sign‑functions.
In simple terms: Science sees humans as need‑driven; semiotics sees us as sign‑users.
Key Takeaway
Adopt a semiotic perspective on self and consciousness.
Themes
anthropology
philosophy
theology
semiotics
Mood
thoughtful
inquisitive
Type
theoretical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- academic debate
- personal identity exploration
- interdisciplinary research
Key Concepts
sign‑function
consciousness
human nature
Questions to Reflect On
- How does viewing humans as sign‑users change ethical decisions?
- What evidence supports semiotics over biology?
A Different Perspective
Semiotic models may lack empirical testability.
![“[In art] you are telling the reader or the listener or the viewer something he already knows but which he doesn't quite know that he knows, so that in the action of communication he experiences a recognition, a feeling that he has been there before, a shock of recognition.” quote by Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3f1/walker-percy-1958_action_in-art-you-are-telling-the-reader-or-the_116938.jpg)
