Constructing Symbols and Making Worlds : the Epistemological and Ontological Functions of Architecture

Abstract

It is usually supposed that buildings are physical entities that are part of the world and, as such, they are only some of its material elements. However, if as Nelson Goodman maintains, one considers that buildings are also symbols, then this simplified account is enriched and architecture acquires an epistemological dimension with crucial ontological consequences. From this perspective, it is no longer the construction material that helps in the construction of the world, but the buildings’ multiple meanings: as symbols, buildings contribute to the process of worldmaking. Taking key notions of Goodman’s philosophy and through the discussion of several examples, this article examines in which way buildings contribute in a unique way to both the meaning and to the creation of worlds.