NASS board meeting held, chaired

Today I have chaired a meeting in the board of Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies (NASS), in Zoom. Among other things we discussed issues related to the organizing of NASS XIII, which will take place in Helsinki in early June.

Keynote speech chaired at NASS XII; attendance

Today, at the 12th conference of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies (NASS XII), I chaired Irene Mittelberg´s keynote speech, "Sensing Meaning: Felt Qualities of Perceptual Experience in Coverbial Gestures". This is the third and last day of the conference. Some 50 people have been registered for the conference, of which ca. 30 attending physically, the rest online. With some further virtual viewership including a number of students in Lithuania and Italy, up to 100 people have followed the conference.

Paper "Neurosemiotics across species" presented at NASS XII; session chaired; conference dinner attended

Yesterday, at the 12th conference of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies (NASS XII), I presented my paper "Neurosemiotics across species" (see conference abstract) in the session "Biosemiotics", which I also chaired (there were two more papers, by Kalevi Kull and Amelia Lewis). Some 40 people attended altogether, with a bit more of half of these physically present and the rest attending online. 

Later in the evening the conference dinner took place, at the restaurant Grey.

A job interview, half a course, and a trip

Today I have chaired a job interview for the position as research assistant in relation to my work on welfare and economics, attended half a leadership training course on HMS themes, and started on my trip to Vilnius, Lithuania, where I will attend and present at the 12th conference of the Nordic Association for semiotic studies (November 5-7th).

NASS XII presentation in Vilnius scheduled for Saturday November 6th

I have been scheduled to present my paper "Neurosemiotics Across Species" on Saturday November 6th at 18.00-18.30 as part of the parallell session (number 8.1) "Umwelt", at the conference NASS XII, the 12th conference of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies (NASS), to be held at the Algirdas Julius Greimas Centre for Semiotics and Literary Theory, Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania (November 5-7).

See also conference homepage and conference program.

Peer reviews done for NASS XII

I have done peer-reviews of individual abstracts as a member of the scientific committee for NASS XII - most recently one today.

"Neurosemiotics across species" paper accepted for oral presentation at NASS XII

I have been notified that my paper submission to NASS XII, to be held in Vilnius this Autumn, has been accepted for oral presentation.

See also:

Abstract for NASS XII: "Neurosemiotics across species"

3 meetings

Today I have had 3 meetings. This included a follow-up NASS board meeting on NASS XII, and two department-related meetings.

Abstract for NASS XII: "Neurosemiotics across species"

I have just submitted this abstract to the organizers of NASS XII (June 17-19, 2021, Vilnius) which has the theme "Meaning in Perception and the Senses":

 

Neurosemiotics across species  

Morten Tønnessen 

Professor of philosophy, Department of social studies, University of Stavanger 

Email: ...

This paper (Tønnessen, forthcoming) depicts neurosemiotics across species by applying a biosemiotic perspective that builds on the Umwelt theory of Jakob von Uexküll. To understand the Umwelt of sentient organisms, we must understand neurosemiotic aspects of their experience and behaviour. The paper also examines fundamental issues in neurosemiotics, such as the nature of the neural code, and whether the neural code can be understood as a semiotic concept. Connections are made between a proper understanding of the neural code and the neurosemiotics that is implicit in the Umwelt theory. A further discussion concerns how different forms of neurosemiotic agency relates to organisms´ capacity for relating to objects, understood as discernable, unified wholes. This sheds light on neurosemiotic aspects of subjectivity across species. A final discussion addresses anthropocentrism in behavioral neuroscience, which is to some extent unavoidable given our necessarily human perspective in neurosemiotic studies.  

Reference 

Tønnessen, Morten, forthcoming. Neurosemiotics across species. In Adolfo García & Agustin Ibanez (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Neurosemiotics. Routledge.  

KEYWORDS 

Umwelt theory, neural codes, subjective experience, individuality, neurosemiotic agency  

BIONOTE 

Morten Tønnessen (born 1976) is professor of philosophy at University of Stavanger. He is the President of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies, and has served as Editor-in-Chief of Biosemiotics (2013–2020). His Ph.d. thesis “Umwelt transition and Uexküllian phenomenology: An ecosemiotic analysis of Norwegian wolf management” was defended at University of Tartu (2011). Academic (b)log: http://utopianrealism.blogspot.com/

NASS board meeting chaired; NASS XII to be held June 17-19th 2021

Today I have chaired the board meeting of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies (NASS), via Zoom. The main issue was organizational matters related to NASS XII, to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, June 17-19th 2021.