Return to Saussure

Introduction: The End of Anthropocentric Meaning For centuries, semiotics has remained tethered to the human mind, assuming that meaning emerges solely through human interpretation. However, advances in artificial intelligence and critical theory demand a reevaluation of this assumption. The thought experiment of the falling tree challenges whether perception is necessary for sound, just as post-structuralist theory questions whether meaning requires a conscious subject. By examining Saussure’s linguistic theory, Barthes’ radical displacement of authorship, and Derrida’s concept of arche-writing, this article argues that the process of meaning-making is not bound to human cognition. Instead, meaning functions autonomously as a structural force , revealing the necessity of a Post-Human Semiotics . The Thought Experiment: Sound Without a Listener? The classic question— If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? —challenges the role of perce...