Symbiosis and semiosis
Kull, K.
Institute of Zoology and Botany, Riia St. 181, EE2400 Tartu, Estonia
In the end of the last century, quite at the same time when A. de Bary coined the term ‘symbiosis’, Ch.S.Peirce started to develop the theory of signs, and soon introduced the term ‘semiosis’ to denote the fundamental sign process. According to T.A.Sebeok, "the key to semiosis in the microcosmos is symbiosis. This is quintessentially semiotic concept". This is because symbiosis presupposes communication. Also, J.Deely has remarked, that the rise of semiotic interpretation of biology is very much consistent to the understanding, that symbiosis is a crucial process determining the evolution of organisms, like it has been described by L.Margulis a.o. Recently, it has been shown that the notion of semiosis or semiotic approach can be applied also to intracellular processes (M.Florkin, T.v.Uexküll, J.Hoffmeyer, C.Emmeche, R.Pollack, Y.Kawade, K.Kull a.o.). However, while the semiotic boundary is often seen in the beginning of life, it seems more correct to point at the beginning of co-evolution, i.e. at the first symbiosis. I suppose that Ch.Darwin, who paid special attention to sexual selection, together with this foresaw the idea that the reciprocal evolution (co-evolution) of organisms is somewhat principally different from the adaptation of an organism to abiotic environment. Here, I propose to analyse, why, or in which way, the first symbiotic processes are exactly those, which can cause the primary semiotic and linguistic features of biosystems to emerge.
| LOCATION |
DATE |
TIME |
| Lecture Hall II |
Monday, April 6 |
08:50 am |