ABSTRACT
Symbols codify societal orders, represent riches, summarize knowledge, embody beauty, define sacredness, and express virtues. Mary Douglas, the British anthropologist, maintains that there are a limited number of myths about nature in the world. In America, Robert K Merton and the functionalist school begin with contexts while George Herbert Mead and the interactionist school begin with symbols. Symbols that can replace one another in a number of arguments have the same meaning; symbols that are irreplaceable in arguments have unique meanings. Every symbol does not have to refer to something fixed outside itself. All symbols that have a Meadian meaning can be used in arguments, and acquire then a Saussurian meaning. It is interesting to note that in instances the original Meadian meaning seems fresher and more vivid than the Saussurian. Jacques Derrida drew the ultimate conclusion of the exclusive use of Saussurian meanings.
