Interview with me and Michael Marder by Federico Comollo

Today I have been interviewed by Federico Comollo (online) along with Michael Marder, on our basic understanding of life. A written version will hopefully appear at some point next year.

«Life in Earth – a new look at the nature of life» sheduled for presentation July 27th in Sheffield at GiB26

My paper «Life in Earth – a new look at the nature of life» has been scheduled for oral presentation at the 26th Gathering in biosemiotics, which is to be held July 27–31st at the University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, on Monday July 27th at 14.30–15.00 as part of the session «Ecological biosemiotics».

Brentari´s Uexküll book received

I have, at long last, received my copy of Carlo Brentari´s book Jakob von Uexküll - The discovery of the Umwelt between biosemiotics and theoretical biology, published by Springer in 2015 - for which I wrote the introduction chapter.

Expert review submitted to Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung

I have just composed and submitted an expert review in relation to a collaborator´s application for a Humboldt Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung.

Uexkullian Bio-Ontology paper cited in Castro´s doctoral thesis

My paper    

Tønnessen, Morten 2001. Outline of an Uexkullian Bio-Ontology. Sign Systems Studies 29 (2): 683–691. 

is cited in

Castro Garcia, Òscar 2015. Filosofía de la Biología Cognitiva. Enfoque biosemiótico de la cognición en organismos sin sistema nervioso: El caso de los Mixomicetos. Doctoral thesis. Barcelona: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.

Excerpt (p. 30, incl. footnote 80):

La interrelación de la red biosemiótica de conceptos utilizados aquí – membrana, signo, sitio activo, función, metabolismo, organismo, Umwelt, nichos, etc. – constituye una ontología regional (Husserl) de biología y semiótica, y de toda la biología, incluso la mayoría de las posibles interpretaciones reduccionistas80. 

80. Esto va en contra del argumento de Morten Tønnessen (2001) que afirma que los conceptos universales de la biología es imposible, porque podríamos imaginar formas de vida completamente diferente de las que conocemos. La generalización aquí puede caer en una falacia donde las condiciones no deban de cumplir con los requisitos conceptuales expuestos. En el caso de conocer una forma contrapuntística de vida diferente a la organizada a través del carbono podría ofrecer (o no) una negación a este argumento.

Roughly translated to English:

The interrelation of the biosemiotic network of concepts used here - membrane, sign, active site, function, metabolism, organism, Umwelt, niches, etc. - constitutes a regional ontology (Husserl) of biology and semiotics, and (all) biology, including most possible reducionist interpretations80. 

80. This goes against the argument of Morten Tønnessen (2001) who states that universal concepts of biology is impossible, because we could imagine ways of life completely different from those we know. This generalization can fall into a fallacy when conditions do not meet the conceptual requirements set. In the case we get to know about different ways of organizing life than carbon-based life forms, this might (or might not) offer a rejection of this argument.

Uexküll intro chapter available online

My 2015 chapter "Introduction: The relevance of Uexküll's Umwelt theory today", the introductory chapter of Carlo Brentari´s book Jakob von Uexküll: The Discovery of the Umwelt Between Biosemiotics and Theoretical Biology (Biosemiotics 9, Springer 2015) is available for download (given subscription) or purchase online, here. DOI is 10.1007/978-94-017-9688-0_1). The first page is available as a sample.

According to "chapter metrics" (Bookmetrix) it has been downloaded 219 times to date.

To contribute to Biosemiotics SI on Constructive Biosemiotics

I have recently been invited to, and agreed to contribute with an article to a forthcoming Special issue of the journal Biosemiotics, on "Constructive Biosemiotics" (guest-edited by Tommi Vehkavaara and Alexei Sharov). My paper will focus on the (Uexküllian) epistemology of biosemiotics. A full paper is due by September 2016.

Introductory chapter on Uexküll's Umwelt theory completed

A couple of days ago, or more precisely at 6 a.m. yesterday, I finished the book chapter "Introduction: The relevance of Uexküll's Umwelt theory today", which will serve as the introductory chapter of Carlo Brentari's book The Discovery of the Umwelt: Jakob von Uexküll between Biosemiotics and Theoretical Biology (to be published by Springer).

"Umwelt trajectories" proof-read, to be published early 2014

This weekend I proof-read my article "Umwelt trajectories", which will be published in Semiotica no. 1/2014 (issue 198), pp. 159 – 180.

To write introduction to Brentari's monograph on Uexküll

I have been asked (by Marcello Barbieri, who is the book series editor along with Jesper Hoffmeyer), and agreed, to write the introduction chapter to Carlo Brentari's forthcoming monograph on Uexküll, which is entitled Jakob von Uexküll. The discovery of the Umwelt between biosemiotics and theoretical biology. An Italian version of the book already exist, this book, which will appear in Springer's Biosemiotics book series, is a translation from Italian. I will write the introduction at some point next year.

Abstract for the NY gathering in biosemiotics

I have completed and submitted an abstract for the 11th international gathering in biosemiotics, which will for the first time take place outside Europe - in New York, June 21-26 2011.

Integrated biological individualism and the primacy of the individual level of biological organization

Morten Tønnessen, Department of Semiotics – University of Tartu

In ‘Umwelt Transitions: Uexküll and Environmental Change’ (Biosemiotics 2.2) I introduced the notion of integrated biological individualism, according to which the individual, or more precisely organismic, level should occupy the centre—the middle ground—of methodology in the life sciences, at the crossroad where the somatic realm encounters the ecological one. The term was then included in a broader programmatic treatment in ‘Steps to a Semiotics of Being’ (Biosemiotics 3.3). From the standpoint of the individual, or organism, we can describe how an individual organism is constituted as a biological body, as well as how nature as a global ecological system is constituted by individual organisms and their interrelations. Nature, then, is a body of bodies (the ultimate superorganism); and any individual self is by its nature a social self – through its interrelation with others, a self is always bigger than itself.

In this paper I will expand upon the notion of integrated biological individualism by relating it more explicitly to the suggested primacy of the individual level of biological organization. As Anton Markoš remarks (Readers of the Book of Life: Contextualizing Developmental Evolutionary Biology (2002): 29), life “proceeds synchronously on innumerable space, time, and organizational levels. Nothing on any single level can reveal its essence”. Yet, it remains that a biological science with no concern for, or interest in, the living themselves (qua living beings – at the level of the individual) would be deeply problematic. There is no doubt that the ‘genetic turn’ in biology has been successful in terms of scientific understanding, but the new microscopic realm that has opened up to us has simultaneously induced us to neglect the ‘life-size’ realm. What future can we envision for the critical task of Umwelt mapping?

After a general introduction to this topic matter I will introduce an original, tentatively all-inclusive model of various levels of biosemiosis. According to this model there are six levels of biosemiosis, falling under three broader categories.

CATEGORIES // PRIMARY REALM // PRIMARY FIELD OF SEMIOTICS OF NATURE

SUB-PERCEPTUAL SEMIOSIS = MICROSCOPIC SEMIOSIS // Somatic // Biosemiotics

Intra-cellular semiosis

Inter-cellular semiosis

PERCEPTUAL SEMIOSIS = ORGANISMIC SEMIOSIS // Social // Zoosemiotics

Intra-organismic semiosis

Inter-organismic semiosis*

Extra-organismic semiosis

SUPER-PERCEPTUAL SEMIOSIS = MACROSCOPIC SEMIOSIS // Ecological // Ecosemiotics

Super-organismic semiosis*

* social proper, in the sense of involving several individuals

The tripartite model is relevant for simple and complex life forms alike (though in the case of very simple – non-social – creatures it collapses into a two-category model). As it demonstrates, perception is at the core of biosemiosis, even though not all biosemiosis is perceptual, and even though perception constitutes but one level (or layer) of biosemiosis. The standing of perception is intimately tied to the standing of the individual. With such an overall model of biosemiosis, the individual organism (and its lifeworld) is methodologically placed at the center of biological research.

Brian Goodwin (1931-2009)

I just got the news that Brian Goodwin is dead, since July 15th.

B.G. held a PhD in theoretical biology. Among his books are How The Leopard Changed Its Spots (1994). He liked climbing trees. B.G. will be remembered for his pioneering contributions to theoretical biology and complexity science, not least through his development of biological structuralism (incomplete Wikipedia-article here). For many years at the end of his life (ten, or a bit more) Brian taught at Schumacher College, UK. His latest title there was "Scholar in residence". In addition to contributing to short courses he taught at their groundbreaking MSc in Holistic science - for which he was of foundational importance, along with staff ecologist (deep ecologist, James Lovelock-colleague) Stephan Harding.

Personally I encountered Goodwin at two occasions. First, when - the autumn of 1999 - I resided at Schumacher college for three months as a volunteer. B.G. was at that point the main responsible for the newly created MSc in Holistic science, which I believe was in its second year. Now and then I got to listen to his talks in the MSc or in courses, or talk with him at dinner etc. My second encounter with Goodwin occured in the summer/autumn of 2006. At the age of 75, he accepted an invitation to figure in the advisory board of a Nordic-Baltic Research Network for Philosophy of Biology. The network never got funding, and therefore never materialised. I was onboard as the assigned secretary of this network.

Brief report from Gathering in Biosemiotics 9, Prague

The 9th Gathering in biosemiotics took place in Prague, The Czech republic, June 30th-July 4th. 48 presentations were scheduled in the programme (abstract book here), a few of which were cancelled.

Some talks I enjoyed (I did not attend all talks):
Edward BAENZIGER: "Photosemiosis in orchids"
Eliseo FERNÁNDEZ: "Biosemiotics and the relational turn in biology"
Jonathan HOPE: "Umwelträume and multi-sensory integration"
Timo MARAN and Karel KLEISNER: "Semiotic selection, cooption, and good old Darwin: Is there a common basis for the explanation of mimicry, sexual selection, and domestication?"

My talk, "On contrapuntuality: Semiotic niche vs. ontological niche: the case of the Scandinavian wolf population" was given Friday 3rd of July - and went well, with positive response and useful feedback.

I further enjoyed the spirited company of (among others) Myrdene ANDERSON, Luis Emileo BRUNI, Sara CANNIZZARO, Paul COBLEY, Stephen PAIN, Riin MAGNUS, Rex ALEXANDER and Prisca AUGUSTYN.

Augustyn held an interesting workshop on Uexküll translation (she is currently translating Theoretische Biologie (1928), among other texts). The gathering also featured a lively roundtable on the concept of meaning within biology, to which there were 20 suggestions for definitions.

The next gatherings will be arranged the following places (main responsible in parenthesis):
2010: Portugal ... (João Carlos MAJOR)
2011: New York (Victoria ALEXANDER)
2012: Tartu (Kalevi KULL)