Fissures through Language: Cornelius Castoriadis Critic of Frege

Abstract

The main thematic focus of this paper revolves around Cornelius Castoriadis’ original critique of Gottlob Frege’s notion of Bedeutung. To adequately frame the argumentative order of the Greek-French philosopher, it will be necessary to explicate some of his main philosophical stances, as a critical counterpoint to Frege’s well-known systematizations. The overcoming of Frege’s conceptuality takes place starting from the elaboration of an idea of signification as magma and of identity logic as insiemistic localization, from which it follows that it is impossible to think of Bedeutung in the ways of a substantialist and monolithic reference.

I will therefore proceed by giving a brief account of the way Castoriadis conceives of signification – as an indeterminate bundle – necessarily bringing into play his magmatological analogy as well as the re-articulation of the idea of logic in terms of legein. From this conceptual elucidation, a precise focus on the criticism of Frege in the last chapter of The Imaginary Institution of Society will be possible.