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In
semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...
, ''khôra'' (also ''chora''; ) is the space that gives a place for
being Existence is the state of having being or reality in contrast to nonexistence and nonbeing. Existence is often contrasted with essence: the essence of an entity is its essential features or qualities, which can be understood even if one do ...
. The term has been used in
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
by
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
to designate a receptacle (as a "third kind" 'triton genos'' '' Timaeus'' 48e4), a space, a material substratum, or an interval. In Plato's account, ''khôra'' is described as a formless interval, alike to a non-being, in between which the " Forms" were received from the intelligible realm (where they were originally held) and were "copied", shaping into the transitory forms of the sensible realm; it "gives space" and has maternal overtones (a womb, matrix):
“Moreover, a third kind is that of the Khôra (χώρας), everlasting, not admitting destruction, granting an abode to all things having generation, itself to be apprehended with nonsensation, by a sort of bastard reckoning, hardly trustworthy; and looking toward which we dream and affirm that it is necessary that all that is be somewhere in some place and occupy some khôra; and that that which is neither on earth nor anywhere in the heaven is nothing." — Plato, ''Timaeus'', 52a–b "So likewise it is right that the substance which is to be fitted to receive frequently over its whole extent the copies of all things intelligible and eternal should itself, of its own nature, be void of all the forms. Wherefore, let us not speak of her that is the Mother and Receptacle of this generated world, which is perceptible by sight and all the senses, by the name of earth or air or fire or water, or any aggregates or constituents thereof: rather, if we describe her as a Kind invisible and unshaped, all-receptive, and in some most perplexing and most baffling partaking of the intelligible, we shall describe her truly." — Plato, ''Timaeus'', 51a


Etymology

In is the space where something is, or any generic place.


History

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
merged his teacher's concept with his definitions of '' prima materia'' (''hylé''), place (topos) and substratum ('' hypokeimenon''), in the book 4 of ''
Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
'': "This is why Plato says in the Timaeus that matter and the khôra are the same; for the receptive and the khôra are one and the same. Although the manner in which he speaks about the receptive in the Timaeus differs from that in the so-called unwritten teachings, nevertheless he declares that place and the khôra are the same". Key authors addressing ''khôra'' include
Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...
, who refers to a "clearing" in which being happens or takes place. Kitaro Nishida stated that he based his concept of ''basho'', Place, on the abyssal nothing '' mu'' inspired by his reading of Plato's notion of khôra. Jacques Derrida has written a short text with the title ''Khôra''. Jacques Derrida uses ''khôra'' to name a radical otherness that "gives place" for being, characterizing ''khôra'' as a formless interval, alike to a non-being, in between which the " Forms" were received from the intelligible realm (where they were originally held) and were "copied", shaping into the transitory forms of the sensible realm; it "gives space" and has maternal overtones (a womb, matrix):. For Derrida, ''khôra'' defies attempts at naming or either/or logic, which he "deconstructs". The project proposed the construction of a garden in the Parc de la Villette in Paris, which included a sieve, or harp-like structure that Derrida envisaged as a physical metaphor for the receptacle-like properties of the ''khôra''. Derrida argues that the subjectile is the space between the sensible and the intelligible, through which everything passes, but in which nothing remains. For example, an image needs to be held by something, just as a mirror will hold a reflection. Following Derrida, John Caputo describes ''khôra'' as:
neither present nor absent, active or passive, the good nor evil, living nor nonliving - but rather atheological and nonhuman - ''khôra'' is not even a receptacle. ''Khôra'' has no meaning or essence, no identity to fall back upon. She/it receives all without becoming anything, which is why she/it can become the subject of neither a philosopheme nor mytheme. In short, the ''khôra'' is tout autre ully other very.
If, as one contributor concludes, "''khôra''" means "space", it is an interesting space that "at times appears to be neither this nor that, at times both this and that," wavering "between the logic of exclusion and that of participation." (Derrida, ''The Name'', 89). Julia Kristeva deploys the "''khora''" as part of her analysis of the difference between the semiotic and symbolic realms, as the emancipatory employment of semiotic activity as a way of evading the allegedly phallocentric character of symbolic activity (signification through language), which, following Jacques Lacan, is regarded as an inherently limiting and oppressive form of '' praxis''. Kristeva articulates the ''khôra'' in terms of a presignifying state: "Although the ''khôra'' can be designated and regulated, it can never be definitively posited: as a result, one can situate the ''khôra'' and, if necessary, lend it a topology, but one can never give it axiomatic form."


Notes


References

* Translation of Derrida, Jacques 1993: ''Khôra''. Paris: Galilée. * Transcript of the Roundtable Discussion with Jacques Derrida at
Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...
, October 3, 1994. With commentary by Caputo. Which is also available at * * p
107118152
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khora Semiotics Timaeus (Plato)