Text on the evolutionary origin of Umwelt featured in Middlesex University Reading group session

My brief commentary article "The Evolutionary Origin(s) of the Umwelt. Biosemiotics" is included in this Spring´s readings for the reading group “Signs in Nature” at Middlesex University, along with Jablonka and Ginsburg´s Target article "Learning and the Evolution of Conscious Agents". This will happen in the session "Consciousness and Umwelt", which takes place Friday April 19th online.

On my way to Oxford for academic updating

Today I travel from Stavanger, Norway to Oxford, UK, with a stop on the way in London, where I have met with Professor Paul Cobley (Middlesex University). Right now I am on the train from London Paddington towards Oxford. In Oxford I plan to attend 6 academic events the next four days, including 3 classes/lectures offered by the Faculty of Philosophy at University of Oxford, and 3 more academic events.

Meeting of editorial board of Biosemiotics attended

On Thursday July 3rd, during the 14th International Gathering in Biosemiotics (London, 30th of June to 4th of July), I attended the first in-person meeting of the editorial board of the journal Biosemiotics, for which I am one of three Editors-in-Chief. The meeting was chaired by Alexei Sharov.

Descartes paper presented in London

On Thursday July 3rd I presented my paper "Descartes’ dualisms and the epistemology of biosemiotics" at the 14th Gathering in Biosemiotics (London June 30 - July 4), in a session chaired by Jesper Hoffmeyer and also involving a paper by John Deely. Some 25-30 people (?) attended.

Session with Vehkavaara paper chaired

Today I chaired a session of the ongoing 14th Gathering in Biosemiotics (London, June 30 - July 4). The session, which was also supposed to include a paper by Paul Thibault, involved Tommi Vehkavaara's paper "The interplay og cognitive and action-guiding signs in intelligent animals", which was substantially discussed.

See also:

Change of chairing plans

To chair session at 14th International Gathering in Biosemiotics, London

To participate in roundtable on agency at GiB14

Today I have agreed to participate in a roundtable on agency chaired by Kalevi Kull tomorrow Tuesday July 1st at 11.30-12.50 at the ongoing 14th Gathering in Biosemiotics (London, June 30 - July 4), along with him and Alexei Sharov. I will first of all present findings in the first survey in the biosemiotic community conducted in preparation of the first review article in the biosemiotic glossary project.

CFP: Gathering in biosemiotics 14 (London)

This first Call For Papers has recently been distributed by email. To my knowledge there is no event website yet.

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Gatherings in Biosemiotics 14

Middlesex University, London (UK), 30 June – 4 July 2014.

The Fourteenth Annual Gathering in Biosemiotics will be held in London from 30 June to 4 July 2014, under the auspices of Middlesex University in collaboration with the International Society of Biosemiotic Studies. The aim of the gathering is to provide scholars and researchers in various academic disciplines with a common platform to discuss the roles played by signs and communication in life processes.

The Scientific Advisory Committee of the 14th Gathering in Biosemiotics invites scholars and researchers from all over the world to submit their abstracts of presentations which are primarily centred on the roles and the significance of signs in life processes. Favoured abstracts will

• contribute to and elaborate biosemiotics
• be up-to-date regarding theory, methods and data, and
• demonstrate understanding of, and refer to, existing works in the field.

Abstracts should be 300-600 words, typed using a standard word processing format (using Times New Roman 12 point font, and setting the page size for A4). Abstracts should be submitted as single page files to the following address:abstracts2014 [a] biosemiotics.org to be received by no later than 14 March 2013. Please name the abstract file with the author’s (your) surname in capital letters, for instance SEBEOK.doc.

For early registration and any additional information, please contact p.cobley [a] mdx.ac.uk.