Scientific Board of first IACS Symposium joined

I have agreed to join the Scientific Board of the 2027 Symposium of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS), with the theme "Minds Without Bodies? Bridging Perception, Semiosis, and Intelligence: Humans, Animals, Machines". The symposium, the first of its kind, is to be held at Babeș-Bolyai University, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, on 9–11 September 2027.

Peer-reviews conducted for IACS6

I have recently conducted peer-review of two proposed panels (with individual abstracts) for the Sixth Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS6), which is to take place in Rome, Italy, June 4-6th 2026, as a member of the conference´s scientific committee.

Plenary "The crisis of mechanistic science seen through the lens of the nature crisis" held at IACS5

Yesterday I gave my plenary talk "The crisis of mechanistic science seen through the lens of the nature crisis" at The Fifth Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics, with the theme “Crises of meaning”, organised at Division of Cognitive Semiotics at the Centre for Language and Literature at Lund University, in Lund, Sweden (August 15-17th). Some 50-60 people attended.

IACS-5 plenary addresses to be broadcast live via Zoom; links

The plenary addresses at The Fifth Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS-5), to be held in Lund, Sweden, August 15-17th with the conference theme "Crises of meaning", will be broadcast live over Zoom. All six are listed with their respective Zoom links in this document.

My Plenary Address “The crisis of mechanistic science seen through the lens of the nature crisis” is held Friday August 16th at 17:15-18:15, and can be followed live online by using this Zoom link.

IACS5 plenary talks abstracts now online

Abstracts of the six plenary talks for the 5th conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics have now been shared online.

These include:

Elena Cuffari: "Autonomy, participation, and sense-making as sites of crisis: studying the technopolitical situatedness of linguistic bodies"

Hans-Georg Moeller: "The Crisis of Authenticity: Meaning under Conditions of "Profilicity""

Cornelia Müller: "Multimodality and aesthetic experience: How feeling guides the ways we make sense"

Jamin Pelkey: "The birth of wild meaning: Facing crises of alienation and disenchantment"

Komarine Romdenh-Romluc: "Break-downs and times of crisis"

Morten Tønnessen: "The crisis of mechanistic science seen through the lens of the nature crisis"

Conference website for Fifth Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS-5)

The Fifth Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS-5), to be held August 15-17, 2024 in Lund, Sweden with the theme "Crisis of meaning", has now launched its conference website. I figure as one of the plenary speakers, along with Hans-Georg Moeller, Cornelia Mueller, Jamin Pelkey and Komarine Romdenh-Romluc. Abstract submissions are due January 15th, 2024.

3 abstracts reviewed for IACS3

I have just completed my peer-review of thee abstracts submitted to IACS3, the third conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics, as one of several members of its Program Committee.

In Scientific Committee for IACS3, Toronto

I have silently accepted to be appointed, again, as a member of the Scientific Committee of the 3rd conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS), shich is to be held on Toronto July 13-15th.

New book title for cognitive semiotics volume

My chapter "Agency in biosemiotics and enactivism", a contribution to a book formerly entitled Establishing Cognitive Semiotics, will still appear by the end of the year, editors inform. The title of the book, to be published by Peter Lang, has now been changed to Meaning, mind and communication: Explorations in cognitive semiotics.

Member of Scientific committee of IACS 2

I´m a member of the Scientific Committee of the second conference of the International Association for cognitive semiotics (IACS).

See also:

9/13 abstracts peer-review for IACS 2

9/13 abstracts peer-review for IACS 2

Yesterday I peer-reviewed 9 abstracts - or rather 13, since one was a theme session, for IACS 2, the second conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics.

IACS 2 to be held in Lublin, Poland - CFP out now

The Second Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS) will be held June 20-22, 2016 at Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Lublin, Poland. Abstract deadline is January 10th 2016, for other deadlines see the conference webpage.

Invited plenary speakers include Maxine Sheets-Johnstone and Eva Jablonka.

IACS General Assembly held - Todd Oakley new President

Yesterday I attended the General Assembly of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS), which was held during the IACS' first conference, in Lund, Sweden. Todd Oakley was elected new President.

Session "Learning and development" chaired

Today I have chaired the session "Learning and development" at the ongoing First Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (Lund, Sweden, September 25-27th). The session involved papers by Tobias Fredlund (with Cedric Linder and John Airey), Elin Westlund and Sara Lenninger. Some 10-17 people attended.

To chair session "Learning and development" at IACS conference

I have agreed to chair the session ”Learning and development” at the upcoming First Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS) (Lund, Sweden, September 25-27). The session will be held on Friday September 26th at 13.30-15.00.

See full programme.

IACS Abstract book

The abstract book of the upcoming First Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS) (Lund, Sweden, September 25-27) has been published online in PDF version. 

The abstract for my talk "Will the agents of nature please rise: What is agency?" is on p. 161-162. I am further mentioned p. 10 (programme), p. 228 (index), p. 232 (list of participants) and p. 235 (list of members of Scientific committee).

"What is agency?" paper scheduled for presentation September 27th

My talk "Will the agents of nature please rise: What is agency?", to be given at the upcoming The First Conference of the International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS) (Lund, Sweden, September 25-27), has (quite a while ago) been scheduled for presentation Saturday September 27th at 12.00-12.30. My presentation has been placed within the session "Comparative cognition".

See full program.

IACS program and abstracts online

The program for the upcoming conference First International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS) Conference (Lund, Sweden, September 25-27th) is available online. So are abstracts, including for my paper "Will the agents of nature please rise: What is agency?" 

Agents of nature paper accepted for presentation at IACS conference

My paper "Will the agents of nature please rise: What is agency?" was quite some time ago accepted for presentation at the First International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS) Conference (Lund, Sweden, September 25-27, 2014). Three reviews of my abstract as originally submitted (see also updated abstract) was communicated to me. Of these two were strong accepts, whereas one was strong reject.

Updated abstract for IACS conference: "Will the agents of nature please rise: What is agency?"

A couple of days ago I updated my abstract for the upcoming conference First International Association for Cognitive Semiotics (IACS) Conference (Lund, Sweden, September 25-27th).

Will the agents of nature please rise: What is agency? 

Morten Tønnessen 

Associate professor at Department of health studies/Department of social studies, University of Stavanger  

In this presentation I present Tønnessen, forthcoming, the first in a series of review articles addressing biosemiotic terminology, which is meant to establish the format of the series. In contrast to the five existing biosemiotic glossaries compiled by individual authors (one or a few), this project is inclusive and designed to integrate views of a representative group of members within the biosemiotic community based on a standard survey and related publications. The methodology section describes the format of the survey conducted in November–December 2013 in preparation of the current review and targeted on the two terms ‘agent’ and ‘agency’. Next, I summarize denotation, synonyms and antonyms, with special emphasis on the denotation of these terms in current biosemiotic usage. On this point the survey findings include ratings of nine citations defining or making use of the two terms. I provide a summary of respondents’ own definitions of the terms and suggested usage. Further sections address etymology, connotations, and related terms in English and other languages. A section on the notions’ mainstream meaning vs. their meaning in biosemiotics is then followed by attempt at synthesis and conclusions. 

While some other fields, such as medical and veterinary science, has a pragmatic interest in the notion of agency qua causal, biosemiotics has an ontological interest in the occurrence of agency in the living realm at large. Although there is currently no consensus in the biosemiotic community on what constitutes a semiotic agent, i.e. an agent in the context of semiosis (the action of signs), most respondents agree that core attributes of an agent include goal-directedness, self-governed activity, processing of semiosis and choice of action, with these features being vital for the functioning of the living system in question. I agree that these four features are constitutive of biosemiotic agents, and further suggest to define ‘semiotic agency’ as the capacity a living system has of affecting the course of events in which it is involved by relating to sign relationships. Finally, I stipulate that biosemiotic agents fall within three major categories, namely 1) sub-organismic biosemiotic agents, 2) organismic biosemiotic agents and 3) super-organismic biosemiotic agents.  

Acknowledgements 

This work has been carried out thanks to the support of the research project Animals in Changing Environments: Cultural Mediation and Semiotic Analysis (EEA Norway Grants/Norway Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 under project contract no EMP151).  

Reference 

Tønnessen, Morten, forthcoming. The biosemiotic glossary project: Agent, agency. To appear in Biosemiotics 7(3), December 2014

See also:

Abstract for cognitive semiotics conference: "Will the agents of nature please rise: What is agency?"