#3

Today I have had a writing day, the 3rd this Autumn, focussed on my re-working of my so-called UNDP letter, now aimed for Journal of Human Development and Capabilities. I have also updated myself on the UNDP´s work towards HDR 2023.

#2

Today I have had a writing day, the 2nd this Autumn, with some 250 words added to my book manuscript Captured: The fight for the soul of the environmental movement. For now I am still working on expanding the bibliography and index. I have also worked a little on the accessability of my published works via ResearchGate.

See also:

"Semiotics in Ethology and Zoology" and "The study of past Umwelten" now available via ResearchGate

The 39 most read texts on my ResearchGate profile

The 39 most read texts on my ResearchGate profile

86 of my research publications/items are currently listed on my ResearchGate profile. These are the most read (100+ reads):

1. Introduction: The semiotics of animal representations 4.000

2. A hundred introductions to semiotics, for a million students A hundred introductions to semiotics, for a million students: Survey of semiotics textbooks and primers in the world 3.658

3. The Ethics of Laying Hen Genetics 2.254

4. Animal Umwelten in a Changing World. Zoosemiotic Perspectives 921

5. Umwelt ethics 794

6. How Can the Study of the Humanities Inform the Study of Biosemiotics? 793

7. Call for papers: Umwelt Theory and Phenomenology - Special Issue of Biosemiotics 552 

7. Menneskedyret og dets plass i verden (unpublished) 552

9. Umwelt Transitions: Uexküll and Environmental Change 530

10. “Darwin und die englische Moral”: The Moral Consequences of Uexküll’s Umwelt Theory 524

11. A World of Signs - In Memory of John Deely (1942-2017) 459

12. Jesper Hoffmeyer’s Biosemiotic Legacy 453

13. Interview on biosemiotic ethics with Wendy Wheeler 446

14. The First Decade of Biosemiotics 320

15. Introducing Biosemiotic Ethics 280

16. Analyse av partiprogrammer for 2013-2017 utført for Dyreetikkonferansen 2013 261

17. Comprehending the Semiosis of Evolution 253

18. Towards Synthesis of Biology and Semiotics 246

19. Phenomenology and Biosemiotics 202

20. Visjon 2040: Fra overlagt rovdrift til Utopi Buane (unpublished) 201

21. Historicising the Cultural Semiotics of Wolf and Sheep 197

22. Kalevi Kull and the rewilding of biosemiotics: Introduction (by Kati Lindström, Riin Magnus, Timo Maran and Morten Tønnessen) 196

23. Uexküllian phenomenology 194

24. The statistician's guide to Utopia: The future of growth 188

25. Umwelt and Language 186

26. Introduction: The Relevance of Uexküll’s Umwelt Theory Today 183

27. Organisms Reshape Sign Relations 177

28. The ontogeny of the embryonic, foetal and infant human umwelt 170

29. Human development, inequality and social risks in Latin-America and the Nordic countries 159

30. The Biosemiotic Glossary Project: Umwelt 143

31. Semiotic Agency, Science beyond Mechanism 141

32. Anticipating the societal transformation required to solve the environmental crisis in the 21st century 132

33. The Evolutionary Origin(s) of the Umwelt 131

34. Semiogenesis* 116

35. The search image as link between sensation, perception and action 111

36. 1st CFP: Animals in the Anthropocene - human-animal relations in a changing semiosphere (Stavanger, Norway, 17-19 September 2015) 110

37. Justifying Moral Standing by Biosemiotic Particularism 105

38. Introduction to the Special Issue Semiotics of Perception Being in the World of the Living—Semiotic Perspectives 104

39. Abstraction, cruelty and other aspects of animal play (exemplified by the playfulness of Muki and Maluca) 100

* chapter in the book Semiotic Agency, Science beyond Mechanism

Of these 39 texts with 100+ reads on ResearchGate, 2 are call for papers, 2 texts are unpublished (written in Norwegian), the rest are scientific, published texts. 32 are related to biosemiotics, 3 to animal welfare, 2 to economics (#24, #29), of which 1 to human welfare (#29).

"Semiotics in Ethology and Zoology" and "The study of past Umwelten" now available via ResearchGate

I have made two more publications available via ResearchGate (stored privately, can be shared on request):

Semiotics in Ethology and Zoology

The study of past Umwelten

#1

Today I have had the first work day, and first writing day, in the Autumn semester (which officially only begins mid-August), with writing plans made for the Autumn, and a little work on our GDP review article and my UNDP letter.

Autumn plans including writing plans

I have made calendar plans for writing this autumn, with 35,5 writing days scheduled as of now, including 3 now in July. Also this Autumn, I plan to present at 6 conferences (including 1 digitally and 1 locally, 4 abroad), and I will give a full course.

Academic writing - Spring 2023 totals

In Spring 2023, I had 52,5 writing days, compared to 57 originally planned (3 writing days, eventually planned for this July, were transferred to Autumn 2023). Altogether I wrote 23.721 words. On average this results in 452 words per writing day.

The number of writing days compares to 54,5 in Spring 2020, 49,5 in Spring 2021, and 45,5 in Spring 2022. At 52,5, it is slightly higher than the two previous years, but not at record levels.

The volume of words written compares to 25.819 words written in Spring 2021, and 20.781 words written in Spring 2022, while I was still head of department (I wrote only 11.826 words Autumn 2022, my last semester as Head of department). In Spring 2020, I wrote 45.161 words. At 23.721 words, Spring 2023 is not so different from the two last Spring semesters in terms of productivity.

Among what I got done in Spring 2023, was writing the article "The study of past Umwelten" (published this summer in Discipline Philosofiche) and the book chapter "A biosemiotic perspective on the human condition and the environmental crisis" (forthcoming), substantially revising the article now titled "Wasted GDP in the USA" (in review),  and working on two articles with Jan Karlstrøm (one of them with Thomas Hylland Eriksen as a further co-author). I have also written a brief contribution to the book Mars and the Earthlings.

Peer review

I have recently done a peer review for Biosemiotics. 

Semiotics of animal representations intro chapter reaches 4.000 reads

Our book chapter "Introduction: The semiotics of animal representations", authored by me and Kadri Tüür, from the book The semiotics of animal representations (Rodopi - now Brill, 2014) has reached 4.000 reads at ResearchGate.

Reappointed a member of Council for animal ethics for the period 2023-2027

Today I was informed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food that I have been reappointed to Norway´s Council for animal ethics, where I have served since 2017, for the period 2023-2027, as a representative for the animal protection NGOs. The appointment is valid from July 18th 2023 (i.e., today) until June 30th 2027.

#52,5

Today I have had half a writing day - during my summer vacation - with some 300 words added to my text on experiential and behavioural challenges for the book Mars and the Earthlings, and my chapter "Nosology and semiotics" proof-read. This is writing day #52,5 this year.

Descriptive phenomenology chapter published as part of "Open Semiotics"

The 4 books comprising Open Semiotics, edited by Amir Biglari, have now been published, according to the publisher, L´Harmattan´s website. My chapter "Umwelt theory for practitioners: Semiotic guidelines for application in a more-than-human descriptive phenomenology" appears in volume 4, "Life and its extensions". 

Reference:

— Tønnessen, Morten 2023. Umwelt theory for practitioners: Semiotic guidelines for application in a more-than-human descriptive phenomenology. Pp. 303–314 in Open Semiotics (4 volumes, ed. Amir Biglari), volume 4: Life and its extensions. Paris: L’Harmattan.

Discipline Filosophiche special issue on Uexküll now published, with "The study of past Umwelten"

The special issue of Discipline Filosophiche on Jakob von Uexküll, "Jakob Von Uexküll. Biological Theory, Subjectivity And Environment", edited by Vallori Rasini, has now appeared, according to the journal's website. The special issue includes my article "The study of past Umwelten" (see link to abstract).

See also: 

Full reference for forthcoming article "The study of past Umwelten"

Opinion piece "Hvor grønt har Universitetet i Stavanger blitt?" published in Khrono

An opinion piece I wrote today, "Hvor grønt har Universitetet i Stavanger blitt?" (in reply to Harald N. Røstvik´s opinion piece "Er UIS fortsatt "Oljeuniversitetet i Stavanger"?") has been published in Khrono.

Chronicle on dog breeding published in print edition of VG

Our open letter on dog breeding has today been published as a chronicle in the print edition of the Norwegian daily VG. 

See also:

Open letter on dog breeding published as chronicle in VG

Open letter on dog breeding published as chronicle in VG

I am one of ca. 70 signatories of an open letter that was published as a chronicle in the Norwegian daily VG today, "Humdeavl må endres" (Breeding of dogs must change).

«Wasted GDP in the USA» scheduled for presentation at ISQOLS 2023 on August 23rd

I have been notified by the conference organizers that my paper «Wasted GDP in the USA» has been scheduled for presentation as part of Session 6J, “Well-being Indicators” at 2023 International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies 21st Annual Conference: "Toward a People First Economy: A World to Win" (Rotterdam, the Netherlands, August 21-26th). The session takes place Wednesday August 23rd at 9-10:30 am., with my paper scheduled for 9.44-10.06. 

See the preliminnary conference program - as well as authors overview and keywords overview.

To take part in panel discussion on animal welfare during Arendalsuka 2023

I have agreed to take part in the panel discussion "Kan norsk landbruk tilby et liv verdt å leve?" (Can Norwegian agriculture offer a life worth living?) which will be arranged by Matprat and others during Arendalsuka 2023, on Wednesday August 16th. I will take part in the panel representing Norway´s Council for animal ethics.