Tartu Semiotics Library 11
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1 TARTU SEMIOTICS LIBRA RY 11 2 Series editors: Kalevi Kull Silvi Salupere Peeter Torop Advisory board: Tatiana Chernigovskaja (St Petersburg State University, Russia) Robert E. Innis (University of Massachusett s Lowell, USA) Frederik Stjernfelt (Aarhus University, Denmark) Jaan Valsiner (Clark University, USA) Ekaterina Velmezova (Lausanne University, Switzerland) Vilmos Voigt (Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary) Tartu Semiootika Raamatukogu 11 Тартуская библиотека семиотики 11 Kokkusaamised biosemiootikas Собрания по биосемиотике 3 GATHERINGS IN BIOSEMIOTICS Edited by Silver Rattasepp Tyler Bennett 4 Book series Tartu Semiotics Library editors: Kalevi Kull, Silvi Salupere, Peeter Torop Address of the editorial offi ce: Department of Semiotics University of Tartu Jakobi St. 2 Tartu 51014, Estonia htt p://www.ut.ee/SOSE/tsl.html Research for this project funded by SF0180056s12, ETF8403, and by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (Center of Excellence in Cultural Th eory). Copyright: University of Tartu, 2012 ISSN 1406–4278 ISBN 978–9949–32–048–6 University of Tartu Press www.tyk.ee Preface 5 Preface Th e Gatherings in Biosemiotics is the fi rst and only regular series of world wide conferences in semiotic biology. Originally these annual meetings alternated between Copenhagen and Tartu, but broadened their scope early on to in- clude other destinations. Th is year’s Gatherings in Biosemiotics again takes place in Tartu, and we have prepared a special edition of the Tartu Semiotics Li brary book series, Gatherings in Biosemiotics, to commemorate this, the twelft h and largest of the Gatherings so far. Th is commemorative edition in- cludes new material on the basics of biosemiotics, as well as a complete his- tory of the Gatherings as told by their organizers. Th e book is divided into three parts. Th e fi rst part, Approaches to Biosemiotics, includes fi ve short papers on the importance of semiotics for biology. In these papers Kalevi Kull, Terrence Deacon, Howard Patt ee, Stuart Kauff man, nda Myrdene Anderson describe their personal perspectives on the history and functionality of biosemiotics. Th e second part, History of the Gatherings, begins with two retrospectives, by the president of the International Society for Biosemiotic Studies, Jesper Hoff meyer of the University of Copenhagen, and by the long-time vice president of ISBS, Donald Favareau of the National University of Singapore. We also publish here an original communiqué between Th omas Sebeok and Jesper Hoff meyer on the topic of the very fi rst Gatherings. We hope that these as well as a series of shorter historical documents will lend perspective on the Gatherings in Biosemiotics in their entirety. Th e third part features nearly the entire set of submitt ed abstracts for this year’s conference. We included them to give the reader an indication of the whole breadth of ideas and topics that biosemiotics currently covers. In the simplest sense, “gathering” here means merely to get people together. For our purposes though, the additional connotation of “gathering one’s strength” for some great task also seems appropriate. Only the knowledge 6 Preface gained from the entire history of the Gatherings would be equal to such a task. What this task will ultimately turn out to be remains to be seen. It is part of our business here to fi nd out. Tyler Bennett Silver Ratt asepp 7 Contents CONTENTS Preface ................................................................................................. 5 I. Approaches to biosemiotics ........................................................... 9 Advancements in biosemiotics: Where we are now in discovering the basic mechanisms of meaning-making. Kalevi Kull .......................... 11 On the importance of semiotics for biology. Terrence W. Deacon .......... 25 Biosemiotics needs to engage other scientists. Howard H. Patt ee ........... 27 From physics to semiotics. Stuart Kauff man .......................................... 30 Birthing prepositional logics. Myrdene Anderson .................................... 47 II. History of the Gatherings ............................................................. 53 A short history of Gatherings in Biosemiotics. Jesper Hoff meyer ............. 55 A lett er from March 15, 2001. Th omas A. Sebeok .................................... 61 Twelve years with the Gatherings in Biosemiotics. Don Favareau ........... 64 Programmes of the Gatherings in Biosemiotics 1–12 1 Copenhagen – Claus Emmeche .......................................................... 74 2 Tartu – Kalevi Kull ........................................................................... 78 3 Copenhagen – Claus Emmeche .......................................................... 82 4 Prague – Anton Markoš .................................................................... 88 5 Urbino – Almo Farina ....................................................................... 92 6 Salzburg – Günther Witzany .............................................................. 96 7 Groningen – Barend van Heusden ...................................................... 101 8 Syros – Argyris Arnellos .................................................................... 105 9 Prague – Anton Markoš ..................................................................... 109 8 Contents 10 Braga – João Carlos Major .................................................................. 111 11 New York – Victoria N. Alexander ...................................................... 117 12 Tartu – Kalevi Kull, Timo Maran, Silver Ratt asepp ............................... 121 III. Abstracts for the 12th Gatherings ................................................ 127 Pre-seminar I ........................................................................................ 129 Pre-seminar II ....................................................................................... 142 Main programme .................................................................................. 145 Name index ......................................................................................... 235 9 I. APPROACHES TO BIOSEMIOTICS 10 11 Advancements in biosemiotics: Where we are now in discovering the basic mechanisms of meaning-making KA LEVI KULL University of Tartu, Estonia Advancements in biosemiotics Exordium It is now 20 years since the publication of the fi rst book titledBiosemiotics 1 and from the Glott ertal meetings that initiated much for the further decades. It is already 50 years since the coinage of the term ‘biosemiotics’.2 It is now 40 years since the Waddington symposia, at which the theory for general biology has been actively searched for, with some clear, although not fully self- aware hints towards a semiotic biology.3 And there have been 11 annual Gatherings in Biosemiotics held with hundreds of scholars altogether discuss ing and advancing the approach. What has been achieved with these two decades? We have two solid anthologies of biosemiotics (Favareau 2010; Maran et al. 2011) as well as descriptions of its history (Favareau 2007; Kull 2005). We have a monograph that can be used as a textbook of biosemiotics (in two versions – Hoff meyer 1996, 2008). We have at least three special selections of chapters on biosemiotics that can also be used for teaching purposes (Barbieri 2007a; 2007b; Emmeche, Kull 2011). And we have study programs on the masters and doctoral level, with many students having completed and defended their theses on biosemiotics – in Tartu, Copenhagen, and elsewhere. However, what has been achieved within these two decades in the science of biosemiotics – that is, in understanding the phenomena of life? 1 Sebeok, Umiker-Sebeok 1992. 2 Rothschild 1962. 3 Waddington 1968–1972. In these symposia, Howard Patt ee and Brian Goodwin expressed straight forwardly biosemiotic ideas. It is notable that Stuart Kauff man was one of the partici- pants. 12 KA LEVI KULL Understanding is deepened in a dialogue, in conversations. In a couple of occasions, we have tried to formulate the main questions4 and the main statements of biosemiotics together – including the collective manifesto of biosemiotics that provides a version of its major principles (Kull et al. 2009). Let me try to formulate here some conclusions and problems that have been collectively reached and formulated in our biosemiotics inquiry. 1. The lower semiotic threshold zone Sebeok’s thesis that semiosis is coextensive with life5 is one of the major keystones of biosemiotics. However, it is still waiting for a more persuasive demonstration. Th erefore it should still be treated as a hypothesis – and apparently a very productive hypothesis. Aft er Krampen’s (1981) paper on phyto semiosis, and Sebeok’s inclusion of all life (thus, biology) under the fi eld of semiotics, biosemiotics began to truly grow, as indicated by the collective statement on the scope of semiotics (Anderson et al. 1984). Aft er that, and in some extent in parallel, Hoff meyer and Emmeche developed their concept of code duality,6 which has been seen simultaneously as the necessary requirement for both life and semiosis, and the inclusion of Umberto Eco’s concept of semiotic threshold7 into this analysis (for example, W. Nöth organised a meeting in Kassel on this topic). Remarkable work has been done by H. Patt ee in describing the epistemic cut,8 and M. Barbieri in explicating the concept of code9 – both, in this way, adding arguments for Sebeok’s thesis. Very important work has been done