Monday 28 June 2010

Brief report from Braga

I enjoyed being in Portugal very much (my first visit there).

The talks I liked the most were these:
1. Alexei SHAROV: "Functional information: towards synthesis of biosemiotics and cybernetics"
2. Günther WITZANI: "Biocommunication of cancer cells"
3. Marcello BARBIERI: "On the origin of language"

My talk ''We the living: The reception of Uexküll in Norwegian ecophilosophy" (focusing on Arne NÆSS and Peter Wessel ZAPFFE) was given Friday 25th at 11-11.30, and was subject to questions from Don FAVAREAU, Peter HARRIES-JONES and Jesper HOFFMEYER.

That same Friday I chaired the afternoon session (stepping in for Marcella FARIA, who was not there), which included these talks:
Dennis WATERS: "Von Neumann's theory of self-reproducing automata: A useful framework for biosemiotics?"
Siohoi IENG: "A biosemiotic formulation of survival strategies for robots"
Gérard BATTAIL: "Identity, species, order"
Peter BARLOW: "To life on Earth: Messages from the Moon"
Isabel FERREIRA: "Interactive bodies: The semiosis of architectural forms - a case study"
Ted BAENZIGER: "Alpha and omega: the oldest and newest example of interphylogenetic semiotics: the orchid"

Thursday 10 June 2010

Presentation at criminology seminar

I have agreed to give a talk in an open criminology seminar, "Kriminalpolitisk seminar", arranged by Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law (University of Oslo), November 11th (14.15-16.00). The topic is "Illegal wolf hunting" ("Ulovlig jakt på ulv").

Wednesday 9 June 2010

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CHANGE since June 2nd 2009.

SCRIBD - IN ENGLISH
1. The Statistician's Guide to Utopia: The Future of Growth 1.089 (+646)
2. Steps to a Semiotics of Being (PPT) 567 (+416)
3. Utopian Realism 2009 474
4. Umwelt Transition: Uexküllian Phenomenology (research plan) 381
5. Semio (poster) 378 (+212)
6. Curriculum Vitae of Morten Tønnessen (1/5 2010) 333
7. Environmental problems in light of Gabriel Marcel's distinction problem/mystery 306
8. POSTER The Nature View Held by Environmentalists 280
9. ABSTRACT The Nature View Held by Environmentalists 253
10. Signs Grow, But Should They? Semioethics and the Dominant Semiosis of Homo Sapiens 218
11. Reversing the Brain Drain 191
12. The Nature View Held by Environmentalists (Attitudes in the Norwegian Environmental Establishment) 163
13. 'Tell Me, Where is Morality Bred?' (The Semioethics Interviews I, John Deely) 140

Umwelt ethics: Deleted (but see Sign Systems Studies)

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3. Om fluer og filosofi (intervju med Arne Næss) 673
4. Hvem har ansvaret for volden? 641 (+464)
5. Burlesk vitenskapsparodi 419
6. Tidsvitne - omslag 377
7. 20 års moratorium mot oljeleting 305
8. Preludium til romanen HUFF 295
9. Europa i overgangsalderen 238
10. Jakob von Uexküll og øyets verden 224
11. Svart Bok 1998 208

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Academic news in brief VIII

1. The April 2011 conference Zoosemiotics and Animal Representations, for which I am part of the organizing team, has announced publicly its four keynote speakers: Colin Allen, Jesper Hoffmeyer, Graham Huggan and David Rothenberg.
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2. The 10th Gathering in Biosemiotics, to be arranged in Braga, Portugal June 22-27th, has some time ago announced its program, where my talk is scheduled for presentation Friday June 25th at 9-9.30. The abstract of "We The Living: The Reception of Uexküll in Norwegian Ecophilosophy" is to be found at page 42 in the abstract book.
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3. Since the last "Academic news in brief" was posted May 7th, I have conducted further Michael Polanyi work papers, and thereby, as it turned out, concluded the course work in The philosophy of Michael Polanyi. I have started reading Marjorie Grene, and expect to write a paper at some not too distant point in time on Polanyi and Grene and their relevance for matters of biosemiotics (and vice-versa).
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4. Quite some time ago, I was told my first blurb ever was not included after all in Paul Cobley (ed.): Realism for the 21st Century. A John Deely Reader, published October 2009.
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5. Monday - two days ago - I wrote my Attestation Review report for my third year as a Ph.D. student (progress review report), which includes a Revised plan for research and study for the academic year 2010/2011. 13 pp. The attestation review meeting takes place Thursday 17th of June, but I do not have the chance to be there in person.