{"id":9970,"date":"2026-01-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970"},"modified":"2025-10-10T17:30:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T17:30:44","slug":"looking-at-ekaterina-velmezova-and-kalevi-kulls-article-2017-boris-uspenskij-part-2-of-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970","title":{"rendered":"Looking at Ekaterina Velmezova and Kalevi Kull’s Article (2017) “Boris Uspenskij…” (Part 2 of 19)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

0390 Here is a picture of the resulting two-level interscope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0391 The article begins with a pithy introduction.  Boris Anreevich Uspenskij (1937-present) is a linguist and semiotician from Moscow, one of the leading figures in the Tartu School of Semiotics, and a protege of Juri Lotman.  He is one of the founders of the above nested form, which I label “semiological3a<\/sub> structuralism3b<\/sub>“.  But, he has never encountered the diagrammatic formulations<\/em> portrayed above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0392 Each row constitutes a category-based nested form<\/em> where:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actuality2<\/sub> emerges from potential1<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actuality2<\/sub> situates potential1<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normal context3<\/sub> contextualizes actuality2<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normal context3<\/sub> brings actuality2<\/sub> into relation with potential1<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The subscripts, “1, 2, 3”, correspond to Peirce’s categories directly.  The subscripts “a, b, c” correspond to the levels of content, situation and perspective.  The three levels constitute a category-based nested form composed of category-based nested forms.  The relational structure is called an “interscope”.  The above interscope has only two levels, typical for sensible construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0393 All this is discussed in A Primer on the Category-Based Nested Form<\/em> and A Primer on Sensible and Social Construction,<\/em> by Razie Mah, available at smashwords and other e-book venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0394 The two-level interscope associates to sensible construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I ask, “Where in these interviews does the idea of sensible (as opposed to social) construction manifest?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0395 On page 408, in a question on deixis and language, Uspenskij notes that both parapsychological relations (between mother and infant) and imitation (an innate tendency) play roles in language acquisition.  Mother-infant interactions exhibit the character of signifier (the gestures, facial expressions and sounds) as well as signified (perhaps expressed as a theory of mind).  It is as if each signifier poses the challenge, “Guess what I am thinking.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, not only are mother and infant good at guessing, and psychologically supported by their mutual reinforcement, they display an actuality2a<\/sub>, {langue as matter [substantiates] parole as form}2a<\/sub>, that manifests systemic laws.  Each mother tongue is a structure3b<\/sub> operating on the potential of ‘lawful correspondences’1b<\/sub>.  Years later, when the child goes to school and learns to write, the content-level actuality2a<\/sub> will be situated by a similar appearing dyad, {language as matter [substantiates] literary text as form}2b<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0396 Of course, Uspenskij does not say this directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I only suggest that what he does say<\/em> comports with semiological3a<\/sub> structuralism3b<\/sub> as portrayed in the Peirce-inspired diagram above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0397 On page 409, the discussion turns to one of Uspenskij’s unanticipated discoveries: the first Russian grammar book written in Russian.  At the time, there are Russian grammar books in German, French and other languages. This is the first written in Russian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uspenskij tells the story of how his interest in iconic Byzantine painting led to the unexpected treasure.  He originally wanted to appreciate the actuality of Russian iconic painting2b<\/sub> within a formalized artistic system3b<\/sub>, with its own laws1b<\/sub> and its own way of communicating2a<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0398 Indeed, his original inquiry follows the contours of semiological2a<\/sub> structuralism2b<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0399 Of course, the associations may not be as straightforward as that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0400 But it is a good starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the content level, the normal context of symbol-rich artistic expression3a<\/sub> brings the dyadic actuality of {human ideation2am<\/sub> [substantiates] visual signifiers2af<\/sub>}2a<\/sub> into relation with the potential of ‘a signified (the saint) and a signifier (the icon of the saint)’1a<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the situation level, the normal context of the Orthodox tradition3b<\/sub> brings the dyadic actuality of {the icon of the saint (which is also the signifier1a<\/sub>)2bm<\/sub> [substantiating] a painting as an artistic production2bf<\/sub>}2b<\/sub> into relation with the potential ‘laws of the artistic style of the sacred icon’1b<\/sub>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0401 The young Uspenskij formulates a hypothesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Byzantine religious icons<\/em> are meant to be viewed in flickering candlelight<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rich-unreflective clothes, the serious face staring back at the viewer, and the gold inlay of the background catching the import of every flicker of the flames<\/em> belong to the laws of the artistic style1b<\/sub><\/em>.  The candlelight<\/em> assists in drawing the viewer<\/em> into the visual elements2bm<\/sub>… the visual matter2bm<\/sub>… until suddenly… what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

402 The saint in the figure<\/em> speaks to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How weird is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

403 Eighty years after Uspenskij proposes that Russian icons are designed to be viewed in flickering candlelight, Razie Mah reviews two books in September and October 2025: Looking at Steven Mithen’s Book (2024) The Language Puzzle<\/em>and Looking at Julian Jaynes’s Book (1976) The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind<\/em>. These reviews are combined in the e-book, Synaesthesia and the Bicameral Mind in Human Evolution<\/em> (by Razie Mah, available at smashwords and other e-book venues).  This e-book justifies Uspenskij’s hypothesis<\/em> as a characteristic of human practices long before the start of civilization<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

404 Here is a picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0405 In this case, the structuralist system2b<\/sub> is a neural adaptation3b<\/sub> that facilitates the addition of vocal utterances to hand-talk word-gestures under less than ideal visual conditions, such as before a campfire at night<\/em>.  As it turns out, this neural adaptation3b<\/sub><\/em> also engages a previously established adaptation called the interventional sign-relation<\/em> (not pictured).  If Julian Jaynes is correct, then this system undergirds what he calls “the bicameral mind”.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

0390 Here is a picture of the resulting two-level interscope. 0391 The article begins with a pithy introduction.  Boris Anreevich Uspenskij (1937-present) is a linguist and semiotician from Moscow, one of the leading figures in the Tartu School of Semiotics, and a protege of Juri Lotman.  He is one of the founders of the above nested form, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[418],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article-review"],"yoast_head":"\nLooking at Ekaterina Velmezova and Kalevi Kull's Article (2017) "Boris Uspenskij..." (Part 2 of 19) - An Archaeology of the Fall<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Looking at Ekaterina Velmezova and Kalevi Kull's Article (2017) "Boris Uspenskij..." (Part 2 of 19) - An Archaeology of the Fall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"0390 Here is a picture of the resulting two-level interscope. 0391 The article begins with a pithy introduction.  Boris Anreevich Uspenskij (1937-present) is a linguist and semiotician from Moscow, one of the leading figures in the Tartu School of Semiotics, and a protege of Juri Lotman.  He is one of the founders of the above nested form, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"An Archaeology of the Fall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-30T08:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Slide03-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad695f570ebd1b2a6f85c4ac5badcd04\"},\"headline\":\"Looking at Ekaterina Velmezova and Kalevi Kull’s Article (2017) “Boris Uspenskij…” (Part 2 of 19)\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-30T08:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970\"},\"wordCount\":948,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Slide03-1.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Article Review\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970\",\"name\":\"Looking at Ekaterina Velmezova and Kalevi Kull's Article (2017) \\\"Boris Uspenskij...\\\" (Part 2 of 19) - An Archaeology of the Fall\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Slide03-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-30T08:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad695f570ebd1b2a6f85c4ac5badcd04\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Slide03-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Slide03-1.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Looking at Ekaterina Velmezova and Kalevi Kull’s Article (2017) “Boris Uspenskij…” (Part 2 of 19)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"An Archaeology of the Fall\",\"description\":\"A Horror Story by Razie Mah\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad695f570ebd1b2a6f85c4ac5badcd04\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13f66383028a15bc9f1f6f30c43ce372a5a073cb8ec7f9069fa5158a183efe4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13f66383028a15bc9f1f6f30c43ce372a5a073cb8ec7f9069fa5158a183efe4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Looking at Ekaterina Velmezova and Kalevi Kull's Article (2017) \"Boris Uspenskij...\" (Part 2 of 19) - An Archaeology of the Fall","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Looking at Ekaterina Velmezova and Kalevi Kull's Article (2017) \"Boris Uspenskij...\" (Part 2 of 19) - An Archaeology of the Fall","og_description":"0390 Here is a picture of the resulting two-level interscope. 0391 The article begins with a pithy introduction.  Boris Anreevich Uspenskij (1937-present) is a linguist and semiotician from Moscow, one of the leading figures in the Tartu School of Semiotics, and a protege of Juri Lotman.  He is one of the founders of the above nested form, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970","og_site_name":"An Archaeology of the Fall","article_published_time":"2026-01-30T08:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Slide03-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad695f570ebd1b2a6f85c4ac5badcd04"},"headline":"Looking at Ekaterina Velmezova and Kalevi Kull’s Article (2017) “Boris Uspenskij…” (Part 2 of 19)","datePublished":"2026-01-30T08:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970"},"wordCount":948,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Slide03-1.png","articleSection":["Article Review"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970","url":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970","name":"Looking at Ekaterina Velmezova and Kalevi Kull's Article (2017) \"Boris Uspenskij...\" (Part 2 of 19) - An Archaeology of the Fall","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Slide03-1.png","datePublished":"2026-01-30T08:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad695f570ebd1b2a6f85c4ac5badcd04"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Slide03-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Slide03-1.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=9970#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Looking at Ekaterina Velmezova and Kalevi Kull’s Article (2017) “Boris Uspenskij…” (Part 2 of 19)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/","name":"An Archaeology of the Fall","description":"A Horror Story by Razie Mah","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ad695f570ebd1b2a6f85c4ac5badcd04","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13f66383028a15bc9f1f6f30c43ce372a5a073cb8ec7f9069fa5158a183efe4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13f66383028a15bc9f1f6f30c43ce372a5a073cb8ec7f9069fa5158a183efe4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9970"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9974,"href":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9970\/revisions\/9974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}