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Biosemiotics

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For the journal, seeBiosemiotics (journal).
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Biosemiotics(from theGreekβίοςbios,"life" and σημειωτικόςsēmeiōtikos,"observant of signs" ) is a field ofsemioticsandbiologythat studies the prelinguistic meaning-making, biologicalinterpretationprocesses, production ofsignsandcodesandcommunicationprocesses in the biological realm.[1]

Biosemiotics integrates the findings of biology and semiotics and proposes aparadigmatic shiftin the scientific view oflife,in whichsemiosis(sign process, includingmeaningand interpretation) is one of its immanent and intrinsic features.[2]The termbiosemioticwas first used byFriedrich S. Rothschildin 1962,[3]butThomas Sebeok,Thure von Uexküll,Jesper Hoffmeyerand many others have implemented the term and field.[4]The field is generally divided between theoretical and applied biosemiotics.

Insights from biosemiotics have also been adopted in thehumanitiesandsocial sciences,includinghuman-animal studies,human-plant studies[5][6]and cybersemiotics.[7]

Definition

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Biosemiotics is the study of meaning making processes in the living realm, or, to elaborate, a study of

  • signification,communicationandhabitformation oflivingprocesses
  • semiosis(creating and changing sign relations) in living nature
  • the biological basis of all signs and sign interpretation
  • interpretative processes, codes and cognition in organisms

Main branches

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According to the basic types of semiosis under study, biosemiotics can be divided into

  • vegetative semiotics (alsoendosemiotics,orphytosemiotics),[8]the study of semiosis at the cellular and molecular level (including the translation processes related to genome and the organic form or phenotype);[9]vegetative semiosis occurs in all organisms at their cellular and tissue level; vegetative semiotics includes prokaryote semiotics, sign-mediated interactions in bacteria communities such asquorum sensingand quorum quenching.
  • zoosemioticsor animal semiotics,[10]or the study of animal forms of knowing;[11]animal semiosis occurs in the organisms withneuromuscularsystem, also includesanthroposemiotics,the study of semiotic behavior in humans.

According to the dominant aspect of semiosis under study, the following labels have been used: biopragmatics, biosemantics, and biosyntactics.

History

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Apart fromCharles Sanders Peirce(1839–1914) andCharles W. Morris(1903–1979), early pioneers of biosemiotics wereJakob von Uexküll(1864–1944),Heini Hediger(1908–1992),Giorgio Prodi(1928–1987),Marcel Florkin(1900–1979) andFriedrich S. Rothschild(1899–1995); the founding fathers of the contemporary interdiscipline wereThomas Sebeok(1920–2001) andThure von Uexküll(1908–2004).[12]

In the 1980s a circle of mathematicians active in Theoretical Biology,René Thom(Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques), Yannick Kergosien (Dalhousie UniversityandInstitut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques), andRobert Rosen(Dalhousie University,also a former member of the Buffalo group withHoward H. Pattee), explored the relations between Semiotics and Biology using such headings as "Nature Semiotics",[13][14]"Semiophysics",[15]or "Anticipatory Systems"[16]and taking a modeling approach.

The contemporary period (as initiated byCopenhagen-Tartu school)[17]include biologistsJesper Hoffmeyer,Kalevi Kull,Claus Emmeche,Terrence Deacon,semioticiansMartin Krampen,Paul Cobley, philosophers Donald Favareau,John Deely,John Collier and complex systems scientistsHoward H. Pattee,Michael Conrad,Luis M. Rocha,Cliff JoslynandLeón Croizat.

In 2001, an annual international conference for biosemiotic research known as theGatherings in Biosemiotics[18]was inaugurated, and has taken place every year since.

In 2004, a group of biosemioticians –Marcello Barbieri,Claus Emmeche,Jesper Hoffmeyer,Kalevi Kull,and Anton Markoš – decided to establish an international journal of biosemiotics. Under their editorship, theJournal of Biosemioticswas launched byNova Science Publishersin 2005 (two issues published), and with the same five co-editorsBiosemioticswas launched bySpringerin 2008. The book seriesBiosemiotics(Springer), edited by Claus Emmeche, Donald Favareau, Kalevi Kull, and Alexei Sharov, began in 2007 and 27 volumes have been published in the series by 2024.

TheInternational Society for Biosemiotic Studieswas established in 2005 by Donald Favareau and the five editors listed above.[19]A collective programmatic paper on the basic theses of biosemiotics appeared in 2009.[20]and in 2010, an 800 page textbook and anthology,Essential Readings in Biosemiotics,was published, with bibliographies and commentary by Donald Favareau.[1]

One of roots for biosemiotics has been medical semiotics. In 2016, Springer publishedBiosemiotic Medicine: Healing in the World of Meaning,edited by Farzad Goli as part of Studies in Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality.[21]

In the humanities

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Since the work ofJakob von UexküllandMartin Heidegger,several scholars in the humanities have engaged with or appropriated ideas from biosemiotics in their own projects; conversely, biosemioticians have critically engaged with or reformulated humanistic theories using ideas from biosemiotics and complexity theory. For instance,Andreas Weberhas reformulated some ofHans Jonas'sideas using concepts from biosemiotics,[22]and biosemiotics have been used to interpret the poetry ofJohn Burnside.[23]

Since 2021, the American philosopherJason Josephson Stormhas drawn on biosemiotics and empirical research onanimal communicationto proposehylosemiotics,a theory of ontology and communication that Storm believes could allow the humanities to move beyond thelinguistic turn.[24]

John Deely's work also represents an engagement between humanistic and biosemiotic approaches. Deely was trained as a historian and not a biologist but discussed biosemiotics and zoosemiotics extensively in his introductory works on semiotics and clarified terms that are relevant for biosemiotics.[25]Although his idea ofphysiosemioticswas criticized by practicing biosemioticians, Paul Cobley, Donald Favareau, and Kalevi Kull wrote that "the debates on this conceptual point between Deely and the biosemiotics community were always civil and marked by a mutual admiration for the contributions of the other towards the advancement of our understanding of sign relations."[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abFavareau, Donald (ed.) 2010.Essential Readings in Biosemiotics: Anthology and Commentary.(Biosemiotics 3.) Berlin: Springer.
  2. ^Alexandrov, Vladimir E. (2000)."Biology, Semiosis, and Cultural Difference in Lotman's Semiosphere".Comparative Literature.52(4): 339–362.doi:10.2307/1771352.JSTOR1771352.Retrieved11 May2021.'Biosemiotics.' This discipline focuses on the manifold possible connections between biology and semiotics, such as studying biological processes from a semiotic perspective and communication from a biological perspective, or searching for a way to theorize biological phenomena (Laubichler 'Introduction').
  3. ^On the early use of the term, see: Kull, Kalevi 2022.The term ‘Biosemiotik’ in the 19th century.Sign Systems Studies50(1): 173–178.
  4. ^Kull, Kalevi 1999. Biosemiotics in the twentieth century: A view from biology.Semiotica127(1/4): 385–414.
  5. ^Brentari, Carlo (2018-12-01)."From the Hiatus Model to the Diffuse Discontinuities: A Turning Point in Human-Animal Studies".Biosemiotics.11(3): 331–345.doi:10.1007/s12304-018-9329-8.ISSN1875-1350.S2CID49478848.
  6. ^Ryan, John Charles (2012)."Passive Flora? Reconsidering Nature's Agency through Human-Plant Studies (HPS)".Societies.2(3): 101–121.doi:10.3390/soc2030101.
  7. ^Hayles, N. Katherine (2019)."Can Computers Create Meanings? A Cyber/Bio/Semiotic Perspective".Critical Inquiry.46(1): 32–55.doi:10.1086/705303.ISSN0093-1896.S2CID202953465.
  8. ^Witzany, G. 2006. Plant Communication from Biosemiotic Perspective. Plant Signaling & Behavior 1(4): 169-178.
  9. ^Kull, Kalevi 2000.An introduction to phytosemiotics: Semiotic botany and vegetative sign systems.Sign Systems Studies28: 326–350.
  10. ^Maran, Timo;Martinelli, Dario;Turovski, Aleksei(eds.), 2011.Readings in Zoosemiotics.(Semiotics, Communication and Cognition8.). Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
  11. ^Kull, Kalevi2014.Zoosemiotics is the study of animal forms of knowing.Semiotica198: 47–60.
  12. ^Favareau, D. (ed.) (2010).Essential Readings in Biosemiotics: Anthology and Commentary.Berlin: Springer.
  13. ^Kergosien, Y. (1985) Sémiotique de la Nature, IVe séminaire de l'Ecole d'automne de Biologie Théorique (Solignac, juin 1984), G. BENCHETRIT éd., C.N.R.S.
  14. ^Kergosien, Y. (1992) Nature Semiotics: The Icons of Nature. Biosemiotics: The Semiotic Web 1991, T. Sebeok et J. Umiker -Sebeok (eds), Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 145-170
  15. ^Thom, R., (1989) Semio physics: a sketch. Redwood City, Calif.: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.
  16. ^Rosen, R. (1985) Anticipatory systems, Pergamon Press
  17. ^See an account of recent history in: Petrilli, Susan (2011).Expression and Interpretation in Language.Transaction Publishers, pp. 85–92.
  18. ^Rattasepp, Silver; Bennett, Tyler (eds.) 2012.Gatherings in Biosemiotics.(Tartu Semiotics Library 11.) Tartu: University of Tartu Press.
  19. ^Favareau, Donald 2005. Founding a world biosemiotics institution: The International Society for Biosemiotic Studies.Sign Systems Studies33(2): 481–485.
  20. ^Kull, Kalevi;Deacon, Terrence;Emmeche, Claus;Hoffmeyer, Jesper;Stjernfelt, Frederik 2009.Theses on biosemiotics: Prolegomena to a theoretical biology.Biological Theory4(2): 167–173,
  21. ^Goli, Farzad (2016).Biosemiotic Medicine: Healing in the World of Meaning.Studies in Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality. Vol. 5. Springer International Publishing.doi:10.1007/978-3-319-35092-9.ISBN978-3-319-35092-9.
  22. ^Tønnessen, Morten; Maran, Timo; Sharov, Alexei (2018-12-01)."Phenomenology and Biosemiotics".Biosemiotics.11(3): 324.doi:10.1007/s12304-018-9345-8.ISSN1875-1350.S2CID54020391.
  23. ^Bristow, Tom (2010)."Phenomenology, History, Biosemiosis: Heideggerian and Batesonian Poetics in John Burnside's Post-Romantic Process Ecology".Green Letters.13(1): 74–94.doi:10.1080/14688417.2010.10589071.ISSN1468-8417.S2CID171037754.Retrieved2022-01-05.
  24. ^Storm, Jason Ananda Josephson (2021).Metamodernism: The Future of Theory.Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 152.ISBN978-0-226-78665-0.
  25. ^Cobley, Paul; Favareau, Donald; Kull, Kalevi (2017). "John Deely, from the point of view of Biosemiotics".Biosemiotics.10:2–3.doi:10.1007/s12304-017-9291-x.S2CID41549373.
  26. ^Cobley, Paul; Favareau, Donald; Kull, Kalevi (2017). "John Deely, from the point of view of Biosemiotics".Biosemiotics.10:3.doi:10.1007/s12304-017-9291-x.S2CID41549373.

Bibliography

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  • Alexander, V. N. (2011).The Biologist's Mistress: Rethinking Self-Organization in Art, Literature and Nature.Litchfield Park AZ: Emergent Publications.
  • Barbieri, Marcello(ed.) (2008).The Codes of Life: The Rules of Macroevolution.Berlin: Springer.
  • Emmeche, Claus;Kull, Kalevi(eds.) (2011).Towards a Semiotic Biology: Life is the Action of Signs.London: Imperial College Press.[1]
  • Emmeche, Claus; Kalevi Kull and Frederik Stjernfelt. (2002):Reading Hoffmeyer, Rethinking Biology.(Tartu Semiotics Library 3). Tartu:Tartu University Press.[2]
  • Favareau, D. (ed.) (2010).Essential Readings in Biosemiotics: Anthology and Commentary.Berlin: Springer.
  • Favareau, D. (2006). The evolutionary history of biosemiotics. In "Introduction to Biosemiotics: The New Biological Synthesis." Marcello Barbieri (Ed.) Berlin: Springer. pp 1–67.
  • Hoffmeyer, Jesper.(1996):Signs of Meaning in the Universe.Bloomington: Indiana University Press. (special issue of Semiotica vol. 120 (no.3-4), 1998, includes 13 reviews of the book and a rejoinder by the author).
  • Hoffmeyer, Jesper(2008).Biosemiotics: An Examination into the Signs of Life and the Life of Signs.Scranton:University of Scranton Press.
  • Hoffmeyer, Jesper(ed.)(2008).A Legacy for Living Systems: Gregory Bateson as a Precursor to Biosemiotics.Berlin: Springer.
  • Hoffmeyer Jesper;Kull, Kalevi (2003):Baldwinand Biosemiotics: What Intelligence Is For. In: Bruce H. Weber and David J. Depew (eds.),Evolution and Learning - The Baldwin Effect Reconsidered'.Cambridge: The MIT Press.
  • Kull, Kalevi, eds. (2001).Jakob von Uexküll: A Paradigm for Biology and Semiotics.Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter. [ =Semioticavol. 134 (no.1-4)].
  • Rothschild, Friedrich S.(2000).Creation and Evolution: A Biosemiotic Approach.Edison, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
  • Sebeok, Thomas A.;Umiker-Sebeok, Jean (eds.) (1992):Biosemiotics. The Semiotic Web 1991.Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
  • Sebeok, Thomas A.; Hoffmeyer, Jesper; Emmeche, Claus (eds.) (1999).Biosemiotica.Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter. [ =Semioticavol. 127 (no.1-4)].
  • Tønnessen, Morten; Maran, Timo; Sharov, Alexei (2018)."Phenomenology and Biosemiotics".Biosemiotics.11(3): 323–330.doi:10.1007/s12304-018-9345-8.ISSN1875-1350.S2CID54020391.
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