The present essay focuses on three aspects: firstly, it outlines the basic assumptions of Karl Bühler’s (1879-1963) and Ernst Cassirer’s (1874-1945) semiotically grounded linguistic or philosophical undertakings; secondly, it demonstrates the extent to which both scholars drew anthropological conclusions from their particular semiotic considerations; finally, it brings into view some of the most substantial differences between Bühler’s and Cassirer’s semiotic and anthropo-logical conceptions.