"Existential universals" chapter now available via ResearchGate

My chapter "Existential universals: Biosemiosis and existential semiosis" has been published by De Gruyter Mouton as part of Eero Tarasti´s book Transcending signs - Essays in existential semiotics. I have now uploaded a private copy of the chapter to my ResearchGate profile, so that I can more easily share it if scholars request a copy. Feel free to do so.

#28

Today I have had a writing day with work done on four different writing projects - revision of my article "The study of past Umwelten", the reprint of my journal article "Existential universals" as a book chapter, the book chapter "A biosemiotic perspective on the human condition and the environmental crisis" (figure reuse permission issues), and a journal article in process on refugee issues for which I am a co-author.

#0,5

Today I have had the first half writing day this Autumn semester, with some planning done, and proof-reading of the reprint of my text "Existential semiosis" (cf. previous post), among other things.

Book reprint of "Existential universals" to be published in October; link to book

The book Transcending Signs – Essays in Existential Semiotics, which will include a reprint of my article "Existential universals: Biosemiosis and existential semiosis", is now advertised online by the publisher, with planned publication date October 22nd.

Updated reference:

Tønnessen, Morten, forthcoming, 2022. Existential universals: Biosemiosis and existential semiosis. To be reprinted in Eero Tarasti, Sayantan Dasgupta and Paul Forsell (eds), Transcending Signs – Essays in Existential Semiotics (Semiotics, Communication and Cognition 35). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Planned publication date October 22nd 2022.

Updated reference for forthcoming reprint of "Existential universals" article

My article "Existential universals: Biosemiosis and existential semiosis", first published as (see also here):

Tønnessen, Morten (2017). Existential universals: Biosemiosis and existential semiosis. Chinese Semiotic Studies 13(4): 381–398. Published online November 16th 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/css-2017-0022.

will as mentioned earlier be reprinted in the anthology Transcending Signs (for which it was initially intended). Updated reference for the chapter to be reprinted:

Tønnessen, Morten, forthcoming. Existential universals: Biosemiosis and existential semiosis. To be reprinted in Eero Tarasti, Sayantan Dasgupta and Paul Forsell (eds.), Transcending Signs – Essays in Existential Semiotics. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 

"Existential universals" published

My article "Existential universals: Biosemiosis and existential semiosis" has just been published in no. 4, 2017 of Chinese Semiotic Studies, in the section "Biosemiotics and philosophy of science" (along with a paper by the late Eliseo Fernández).

Reference:

Tønnessen, Morten 2017i. Existential universals: Biosemiosis and existential semiosis. Chinese Semiotic Studies 13(4): 381–398. Published online November 16th 2017. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1515/css-2017-0022.

"Existential universals" article reformatted etc.

I have just reformatted my article "Existential universals: Biosemiosis and existential semiosis", and added abstract and a bionote. The paper has been submitted to Chinese Semiotic Studies.

"Existential universals" chapter still forthcoming

My book chapter "Existential universals: biosemiosis and existential semiosis" has been forthcoming in Eero Tarasti´s (et al.) (Eds), Transending Signs (Paris: Muyton de Gruton) since 2010 at least. And it still is.

Abstract: "Existential universals: A link between biosemiotics and existential semiotics"

Existential universals: A link between biosemiotics and existential semiotics

Morten Tønnessen

Abstract submitted for the symposium Nordic Semiotic Paradigms – NASS 25 Years: "Where do Cognitive, Bio- and Existential Semiotics Meet?"

Associate professor at Department of Health Studies, University of Stavanger

Researcher in the grant Dynamical Zoosemiotics and Animal Representations (Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu)

The ten steps to a semiotics of being detailed in Tønnessen 2010 (and said to be “pertinent to various sub-fields at the conjunction of semiotics of nature (biosemiotics, ecosemiotics, zoosemiotics) and semiotics of culture – semioethics and existential semiotics included”) start out with the following three points:

1) Semiotics of being entails inquiry at all levels of biological organization, albeit, wherever there are individuals, with emphasis on the living qua individuals (integrated biological individualism).

2) An Umwelt is the public aspect (cf. the Innenwelt, the private aspect) of a phenomenal/experienced world that is organism-specific (rather than species-specific) and ultimately refers to an existential realm.

3) Existential universals at work on Earth include seeking out the edible, dwelling in a medium, holding a phenomenal world (possibly an Umwelt) and being endowed with life, and followingly being mortal.

This paper will present the notion of existential universals, and sketch how these can be seen as a link between biosemiotics and existential semiotics. Though existential universals can be articulated and conceptualized in a variety of ways, and any chronological exposition may well be at least in part arbitrary, a list of such universal features of life will be presented. Not all semiosis is conceptualized as existential, i.e., by nature experientially related to the existence of a being. Consequently, not all ‘biosemiotic universals’ qualify as existential universals. All existential universals, however, are necessarily universals of biosemiosis.

What is it like to be a human being? (In other words: What is the human condition?). Before we can answer that question, we have to answer a more general question, the answer to which has foundational validity for the human question, namely: What is it like to be a living being? In this paper I will allude to sixteen answers to that question.

Reference

Tønnessen, Morten 2010. Steps to a semiotics of being. Biosemiotics 3.3: 375-392.

Two papers accepted for presentation at Imatra Summer School

Last week I was notified that my two abstracts for the International Semiotics Institute's Summer School (2012 - June 8-12, Imatra, Finland) have been accepted by the organisers. These are (session for which they were submitted in parenthesis):

* "Existential universals: A bridge between biosemiotics and existential semiotics" ("Nordic Semiotic Paradigns - NASS 25 years: Where do Cognitive, Bio- and Existential Semiotics Meet?", chaired by Luis Emilio Bruni)

* "Introducing semiotic economy" (special theme session Consumption as Signification, chaired by Kristian Bankov)

I will publish these two abstracts here in Utopian Realism as separate posts.

Update on book chapter "Existential universals"

A month or two ago I was in contact with the associate editors of Eero Tarasti's forthcoming anthology on transcendental signs and existential semiotics, Richard Littlefield and Paul Forsell. I then sent a slightly updated version of my contribution, "Existential universals: Biosemiosis and existential semiosis", with few changes made apart from updated affiliation. The volume will likely appear in 2013 (Paris-based Mouton de Gruyter is the publisher).

Existential universals - update

Transcending Signs - Essays around Eero Tarasti's existential semiotics is in progress. My contribution, "Existential universals - biosemiosis and existential semiosis", is now pending re-submission OR revision, depending on my decision. This is due January 15th.

The editors of the book, to be published by Mouton de Gruyter, are Paul Forsell and Rick Littlefield.