Day off at MAC4 - trip to Teotihuacán

Yesterday I went with a bunch of fellow MAC4 conference participants to Teotihuacán about an hour´s drive from Mexico City, to see the remnants of this ancient city.

Panel "Animals and philosophy" held at MAC4

Today I participated in the panel "Animals and philosophy", moderated by Andy Lamey and with the panel also including Dale Jamieson, Erin McKenna and Mylan Engel  Jr. The panel was attended by some 50 people.

 

Welcome reception for MAC4

Tonight I have attended the first couple of hours of the welcome reception of the 4th international Minding Animals Conference, which is held here in Mexico City January 17-24th. The reception took place at Hotel Royal Pedregal.

Heading for Mexico

I am about to board a plane heading for Amsterdam, after which I will transfer to a plane for Mexico City, where the 4th international Minding Animals Conference is held January 17-24th.

At the 4th international Minding Animals Conference (Mexico City January 17-24th), I have also been scheduled to take part in the panel session "Animals and Philosophy" on Saturday 20th of January at 12.00-13.30, along with Andy Lamey (moderator), Dale Jamieson, Jeff Sebo and Mylan Engel Jnr. See program as PDF.

Scheduled to speak 22nd and 23rd on MAC4 in Mexico City

Here is the program, with abstracts, for the 4th international Minding Animals Conference, to be held in Mexico City January 17-24th.

I have been scheduled to present on Monday 22th at 12.00-12.20 (The semiotics of predation and the Umwelten of large predators, in the session "Considering wildlife I") and Tuesday 23rd at 12.50-13.10 (The cultural semiotics of wolves and sheep, same session).

Two papers accepted for MAC4, Mexico City

I have been notified by the organizers of Minding Animals Conference 4, to take place in Mexico City January 17-24th, that my papers "The cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep" and "The semiotics of predation and the Umwelten of large predators" have been accepted for oral presentation at the conference.

Abstract for MAC4: "The semiotics of predation and the Umwelten of large predators"

I have just submitted the abstract below to the organizers of Minding Animals Conference 4 (Mexico City, January 17-24th 2018).

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The Semiotics of Predation and The Umwelten of Large Predators

 

This paper aims to present fundamental findings related to the semiotics of predation, and point out a few typical features of the Umwelten (lifeworlds) of large predators.

Carnivores are emblematic of the brutality of nature in that, apparently, in order to live, they have to take lives – as most animals do. Carnivores are generally associated with predatory behaviour, although not all carnivores are predators. Predators thus form a subcategory of carnivores, and are correctly associated with killing – causing death, fear and, to varying degrees, suffering.

In general, when preying on other animals, predators intend to kill, but they do not kill because of any malicious intentions. Nevertheless, historically, predators have a reputation for being beasts ruled by hunger and are still, perhaps unfairly, looked upon as iconic murderers.

What all carnivores have in common is that they eat meat and that they hunt and/or scavenge. As a subcategory of carnivores, besides eating meat, large predatory carnivores have in common that they hunt and kill other animals. In terms of the four main functional cycles referred to by Jakob von Uexküll in his Umwelt theory, predators are thereby characterized by the functional cycle that involves food. The key contrapuntal relation involved in the Umwelten of large predators is, from this perspective, that of predator and prey. Whereas for predators, prey have the functional tone of food, for prey, predators have the functional tone of an enemy – a lethal threat.

These common features of large predator Umwelten indicate selective empathy. However, as any social animal, large predators also, to varying degrees, engage in a number of positive social relations.

Abstract for MAC4: "The cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep"

I have just submitted the abstract below to the organizers of Minding Animals Conference 4 (Mexico City, January 17-24th 2018).

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The cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep

Morten Tønnessen

University of Stavanger, Norway

Wolves and sheep go together – at least in the public mind. They are among the most widespread mammals of wild and domesticated species respectively. While the wolf is in several countries the most controversial large carnivore, it is also, and not coincidentally, the most symbolically laden Western carnivore. The wolf is a symbol of large carnivores, governmental interference in local issues, freedom and authenticity, evil, hunger, sexuality, etc. Sheep, on the other hand, represent among other things innocence and vulnerability (and, of course – food, wool and thus economic value).

The juxtaposition of the symbolism of wolves and sheep go all the way back to the Bible, if not even further. In the Bible, this archetypical opposition is only resolved in the vision of a new Earth and new Heavens, when, in this new paradise, “[t]he wolf and the lamb will feed together” (Isaiah 65:25). Meanwhile, everybody “knows” that wolves prey on sheep. However, many would be surprised to learn that in Norway, wolves over time only account for less than a tenth of depredation on sheep. This demonstrates the way in which people are informed not only by facts, but also by cultural imagery.

Familiarity with the cultural imagery of wolves and sheep is arguably a precondition for fully understanding the fierce human emotions that are invoked in social and political conflicts on wolf management and conservation. Although there are local variations, and even though imagery and symbolism can change over time, the “background noise”, as it were, of the historical cultural semiotic of wolves and sheep is significant practically wherever there are, or were, wolves.

Registered for MAC4, Mexico City

I have just registered for Minding Animals Conference 4, to be held in Mexico City in January 2017. this will be my third Minding Animals Conference.

Ethology panel in Mexico City cancelled

The ethology panel I was to be part of at the 4th Minding Animals Conference has been cancelled due to lack of interest from other scholars.

MAC4 panel on animals and philosophy

At the 4th Minding Animals Conference, to take place in Mexico City January 17-24th, I will be one of the participants in the Animals and Philosophy panel.

To take part in two panels at MAC4, Mexico City

I will take part in a panel on "Animals and philosophy", and another on "Animals, history and ethology" during Minding Animals Conference 4, which is to be held in Mexico City January 17-24th 2018.

Panel participation at MAC4?

I have signalled interest in taking part in three panels at Minding Animals Conference 4, to take place in Mexico City next January, particularly "Ecophilosophy".

Minding Animals Conference 4 to be held in Mexico City

As was announced in the latest bulletin (#30) of Minding Animals International, which was recently distributed, Minding Animals Conference 4 will be held in Mexico city, in July 2018.

Final program of MAC3

Here is a link to the final programme of the recently held Minding Animals Conference 3 (Delhi, India, January 13-20th).

The Semiotics of Animal Representations on display at MAC3 in Delhi

The Semiotics of Animal Representations (Rodopi 2014, eds. Kari Tüür and myself) was on display at Minding Animals Conference 3 (Delhi, India, January 13-20th), at the booth of the organiser Wildlife Trust of India, along with discount flyers prepared for the occasion of the conference.

Talk "What is animal agency?" given at MAC3 (JNU, Delhi)

On Thursday 15th of January I presented my paper "What is animal agency?" at Minding Animals Conference 3, in Delhi, India. The presentation was part of the session "Thinking about animals", moderated by Jeff Sebo. Some 50-60 people were present.

Talk on mentions of animals in political party programs given in Delhi

Today I presented "Mentions of animals in Norwegian political party programs" at Minding Animals Conference 3, in Delhi, India. The presentation was given in the session "Animal law and public policy", moderated by Jagdish Kishwan. Some 15 people were present.

Interfaith service at Lotus temple, icebreaker dinner at JNU Convention Centre attended

Today I have attended the pre-inaugural interfaith service in relation to the Minding Animals Conference 3 (14-20 January 2015), in Delhi, India. The interfaith service took place at the Bahá´í Lotus temple.

I have also attended the conference icebreaker dinner at Jawaharlal Nehru University Convention Centre.