The semiotics of time travel: Studies in simulation and causality.

Abstract

The Semiotics of Time Travel: Studies in Simulation and Causality is a study of the philosophical/literary idea of simulation as defined mainly by Jean Baudrillard. The thesis, however, does not aim to be a commentary on Baudrillard. It uses his ideas as a starting point, and then proposes its own definition of simulation, with emphasis on temporality and causality. Specific cases of simulation are traced in Oedipus Rex, Macbeth, Italo Calvino's short stories, and Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy. In each case, a detailed literary analysis of the work is used to advance the theoretical argument. The approach is best described as interdisciplinary, covering a range of ideas in philosophy, semiotics, and literature. The strong unifying thread in all the chapters is a semiotic analysis of temporal paradoxes, as well as the underlying definition of temporal paradoxes as a subset of simulation, a connection whose various aspects are explored in the different chapters. The thesis also seeks to broaden the definition of simulation, making connections between simulation and other concepts, such as analytical statements (Hans Reichenbach), performative statements (Stanley Cavell), scientific observation (John Searle), narrative structure (Aristotle), and the nature of signs (Umberto Eco). The aim is a philosophical platform for the analysis of simulation as a tool for a semiotic analysis of temporal and causal paradoxes.