“Tous paranos ?” Notes on a possible socio-semiotic extension of paranoid language

Abstract

In this contribution, we will ask in what sense we can hypothesize a paranoid becoming of contemporary social semiosis, or, in other words, an extension of paranoid language beyond its clinical framing. Such paranoid becoming would paradoxically stand as “common” ground to the modes of production of semiotic practices and could, thus, account for the obstacles to communication, manipulative effects, and conflicts generated by such discursive productions. What would be the emblematic features of paranoid language concerning the grip and violence potentially exercisable in public space? What would adopting a social, embodied and complex approach to paranoia entail? To answer these questions, at first, we will try to outline the general framework in which paranoia occurs socially, culturally, and historically, and to understand whether it is possible not to essentialize this pathology. Second, we will summarize some of paranoia's cognitive, linguistic, and semiotic features and see how some recent studies highlight its complexity. Finally, we will try to identify the salient features of the possible paranoid becoming of various socio-semiotic productions of today.