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This text defends the following hypothesis: The Paleolithicpaintings, engravings, symbols and sculptures preserved in the caves ofsouthern France and the Iberian Peninsula, and sometimes elsewhere, aretraces of a specific symbolic form. Inspired by Ernst Cassirer’s theory ofsymbolic forms, it formulates a philosophical foundation for this hypothesis.KEYWORDS – paleolithic art, interpretation, perception, sense, traces

 Ce texte défend l’hypothèse suivante : les peintures, gravures,symboles et sculptures paléolithiques conservés dans les grottes du sud de laFrance et de la péninsule ibérique, et parfois ailleurs, sont les traces d'uneforme symbolique spécifique. Inspiré par la théorie des formes symboliquesd’Ernst Cassirer, il propose un fondement philosophique à cette hypothèse.MOTS-CLÉS – art paléolithique, interprétation, perception, sens, traces

Two of the most interesting attempts of the 20th century to conceptualise, assess andunderstand the production, functioning and institutionalisation of social imaginarymeanings were made by, first, a major thinker in the post-Kantian philosophical an-thropological tradition, the German philosopher Ernst Cassirer, and, years later, byFrench-Greek philosopher and psychoanalyst Cornelius Castoriadis. Both offer waysof thinking and understanding the current political contexts, and point to and offerconcepts for articulating difficulties and obstacles facing us today. The affinities be-tween Cassirer’s philosophy of symbolic forms and Castoriadis’s take on social imag-inary significations are many and striking, despite the fact that Castoriadis never ex-plicitly referred to his predecessor. This article pinpoints some of the affinities, andmakes an argument for the political topicality of both thinkers still today.

This essay aims to contribute to the study of social imaginaries by looking at howthe imaginal, the imaginary, the discursive and the political co-operate in creatingsocial meaning. Through a reading of the work of the French graphic artist andpolitical thinker Enki Bilal, and more specifically in his latest, yet unfinished, work LeBug [The Bug], I will explore how the social imaginary dimension currently works,how it politically affects our ways of thinking and of acting. My assumption is thatBilal can, perhaps, help us see and concretise both possibilities and risks saturatingthe present-day social universes. I will substantiate my arguments by looking at theprocesses of creating meaning activated by both writers and readers of comics.