Meditation Transcending Signs: Seven Concepts for a Buddhist Psychosemiotics
Philosophies January 12, 2026 DOI: 10.3390/philosophies11010007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Cognition Constitution Theme computing Immanence Biosemiotics Epistemology Cognitive science Vocabulary Structuring Transcendence philosophy Order exchange |
| Key points | Argues that in Pāli Buddhist texts, language and semiosis are central to the structuring of cognitive processes and the constitution of a shared yet partly subjective world. |
Abstract
This paper aims to provide an in-depth and detailed overview of the relationship between language and cognition in Pāli Buddhist texts. These reflections will touch on several fundamental themes, such as the role of signs in structuring cognitive processes and semiosis as a force linked to the proliferation of concepts and percepts, whose organization underlies the constitution of a shared and partly subjective “world”. The paper will engage with linguistics, semiotics, and biosemiotics in order to acquire a vocabulary capable of better understanding the Buddhist reflections on these issues, and, where possible, it will also offer a genealogical inquiry that explains why the theme of language takes on the pivotal role it holds in Pāli Buddhism.