Abstract
Saussure (1916, 98) asserts that a linguistic sign emanates from an association between a concept and an acoustic image, the two elements of a sign:Saussure’s definition of linguistic signs finds a niche in visual terms. Following Saussure, I argue that a visual sign is not a painting but an IR concept the painting represents. The painting helps an IR scholar to form an association between itself and an IR proposition in her mind. Whether the painting is qualified as abstract or not matters as long as the sign depends on human senses of a correspondence in purely abstract terms. The painting becomes a visual signifier provided that it helps the formation of a mental correspondence between itself and propositions by Waltz and Wendt. The propositions find home in the realm of abstract art as a result. Not all paintings are helpful; helpful paintings aid IR scholars to nail down theoretical essentials. Scholars’ task is not an easy one because contours (if they ever exist) of artistic abstract thinking subsume linguistic theoretic abstractions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Albers, Joseph. 2013. Interaction of Color: 50th Anniversary Edition. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Aumann, Robert J. 1987. “Correlated Equilibrium as an Expression of Bayesian Rationality.” Econometrica 55 (1): 1–18.
Aumann, Robert J. 1985. “What Is Game Theory Trying to Accomplish?” In Kenneth ArRow and S Honkapohja (eds.), Frontiers of Economics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Barthes, Roland. 1972. Mythologies. New York: Noonday Press.
Croce, Benedetto. 1965. Æsthetic: As Science of Expression and General Linguistic (Translated by Douglas Ainslie). New York: Noonday Press.
Davidson, Donald. 1980. Essays on Actions and Events. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Eichberger, Juergen. 1993. Game Theory for Economists. San Diego: Academic Press.
Fiske, John. 2011. Introduction to Communication Studies. London, New York: Routledge.
Friedman, James W. 1986. Game Theory with Applications to Economics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gardner, Roy. 2003. Games for Business and Economics. New York: Wiley.
Güner, Serdar Ş. 2021. “Wendt Versus Pollock: Towards Visual Semiotics in the Discipline of IR Theory.” Semiotica 238: 239–251.
Güner, Serdar Ş. 2019. “Waltz Talks Through Rothko: Visual Metaphors in the Discipline of International Relations Theory.” Semiotica 231: 171–191.
Hofbauer, Josef and Sigmund, Karl. 1998. Evolutionary Games and Population Dynamics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kreps, David M. 1990. A Course in Microeconomic Theory. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Luce, R. Duncan, and Howard Raiffa. 1957. Games and Decisions: Introduction and Critical Survey. New York: Wiley.
McElrath, Richard and Robert Boyd. 2007: Mathematical Models of Social Evolution: A Guide for the Perplexed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Osborne, Martin J., and Ariel Rubinstein. 1994. A Course in Game Theory. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Rubinstein, Ariel. 1991. “Comments on the Interpretation of Game Theory.” Econometrica 59 (4): 909–924.
Samuelson, Larry. 1997. Evolutionary Games and Equilibrium Selection. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Schelling, Thomas. 1980. The Strategy of Conflict (Second Edition). Harvard: Harvard University Press.
Sigmund, Karl. 1993. Games of Life: Explorations in Ecology Evolution and Behavior. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Smith, John M. 1982. Evolution and Theory of Games. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tickner, Ann J. 2011. “Dealing with Difference: Problems and Possibilities for Dialogue in International Relations.” Millenium: Journal of International Studies 39 (3): 607–618.
Watson, Joel. 2008. Strategy: An Introduction to Game Theory. New York: Norton.
Wendt, Alexander. 1992. “Anarchy is what states make of it: the social construction of power politics.” International Organization 46 (2): 391–425.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Güner, S.Ş. (2023). Saussurean Games. In: Art and IR Theory. Mathematics in Mind. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32342-3_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32342-3_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-32341-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-32342-3
eBook Packages: Mathematics and StatisticsMathematics and Statistics (R0)