Editing Discourse (section)

===Structuralism (Saussure and Lacan)===
[[Structuralism|Structuralist]] theorists, such as [[Ferdinand de Saussure]] and [[Jacques Lacan]], argue that all human actions and social formations are related to [[language]] and can be understood as systems of related elements.<ref name="Howarth, 2000">{{Cite book|author=Howarth|first=D.|title=Discourse|publisher=[[Open University Press]]|year=2000|isbn=978-0-335-20070-2|location=Philadelphia}}</ref> This means that the "individual elements of a system only have significance when considered about the structure as a whole, and that structures are to be understood as self-contained, self-regulated, and self-transforming entities".<ref name="Howarth, 2000" />{{Rp|17}} In other words, it is the structure itself that determines the significance, meaning, and function of the individual elements of a system. Structuralism has contributed to our understanding of language and social systems.<ref>Sommers, Aaron. 2002. "[http://www-ssg.sr.unh.edu/preceptorial/Summaries_2002/summary3_2002.html Discourse and Difference]." ''Cosmology and our View of the World, [[University of New Hampshire]]''. Seminar summary.</ref> [[Course in General Linguistics|Saussure's theory of language]] highlights the decisive role of meaning and signification in structuring human life more generally.<ref name="Howarth, 2000"/>