Biosemiotics

Biosemiotics (from the Greek βίος bios, "life" and σημειωτικός sēmeiōtikos, "observant of signs") is a field of semiotics and biology that studies the prelinguistic meaning-making, biological interpretation processes, production of signs and codes and communication processes in the biological realm.^[1]

Biosemiotics integrates the findings of biology and semiotics and proposes a paradigmatic shift in the scientific view of life, in which semiosis (sign process, including meaning and interpretation) is one of its immanent and intrinsic features.^[2] The term biosemiotic was first used by Friedrich S. Rothschild in 1962,^[3] but Thomas Sebeok, Thure von Uexküll, Jesper Hoffmeyer and many others have implemented the term and field.^[4] The field is generally divided between theoretical and applied biosemiotics.

Insights from biosemiotics have also been adopted in the humanities and social sciences, including human-animal studies, human-plant studies^[5]^[6] and cybersemiotics.^[7]

^ Favareau, Donald (ed.) 2010. Essential Readings in Biosemiotics: Anthology and Commentary. (Biosemiotics 3.) Berlin: Springer.
^ Alexandrov, Vladimir E. (2000). "Biology, Semiosis, and Cultural Difference in Lotman's Semiosphere". Comparative Literature. 52 (4): 339–362. doi:10.2307/1771352. JSTOR 1771352. Retrieved 11 May 2021. 'Biosemiotics.' This discipline focuses on the manifold possible connections between biology and semiotics, such as studying biological processes from a semiotic perspective and communication from a biological perspective, or searching for a way to theorize biological phenomena (Laubichler 'Introduction').
^ On the early use of the term, see: Kull, Kalevi 2022. The term ‘Biosemiotik’ in the 19th century. Sign Systems Studies 50(1): 173–178.
^ Kull, Kalevi 1999. Biosemiotics in the twentieth century: A view from biology. Semiotica 127(1/4): 385–414.
^ Brentari, Carlo (2018-12-01). "From the Hiatus Model to the Diffuse Discontinuities: A Turning Point in Human-Animal Studies". Biosemiotics. 11 (3): 331–345. doi:10.1007/s12304-018-9329-8. ISSN 1875-1350. S2CID 49478848.
^ Ryan, John Charles (2012). "Passive Flora? Reconsidering Nature's Agency through Human-Plant Studies (HPS)". Societies. 2 (3): 101–121. doi:10.3390/soc2030101.
^ Hayles, N. Katherine (2019). "Can Computers Create Meanings? A Cyber/Bio/Semiotic Perspective". Critical Inquiry. 46 (1): 32–55. doi:10.1086/705303. ISSN 0093-1896. S2CID 202953465.

[DF-1] Favareau, Donald (ed.) 2010. Essential Readings in Biosemiotics: Anthology and Commentary. (Biosemiotics 3.) Berlin: Springer.

[2] Alexandrov, Vladimir E. (2000). "Biology, Semiosis, and Cultural Difference in Lotman's Semiosphere". Comparative Literature. 52 (4): 339–362. doi:10.2307/1771352. JSTOR 1771352. Retrieved 11 May 2021. 'Biosemiotics.' This discipline focuses on the manifold possible connections between biology and semiotics, such as studying biological processes from a semiotic perspective and communication from a biological perspective, or searching for a way to theorize biological phenomena (Laubichler 'Introduction').

[3] On the early use of the term, see: Kull, Kalevi 2022. The term ‘Biosemiotik’ in the 19th century. Sign Systems Studies 50(1): 173–178.

[4] Kull, Kalevi 1999. Biosemiotics in the twentieth century: A view from biology. Semiotica 127(1/4): 385–414.

[5] Brentari, Carlo (2018-12-01). "From the Hiatus Model to the Diffuse Discontinuities: A Turning Point in Human-Animal Studies". Biosemiotics. 11 (3): 331–345. doi:10.1007/s12304-018-9329-8. ISSN 1875-1350. S2CID 49478848.

[6] Ryan, John Charles (2012). "Passive Flora? Reconsidering Nature's Agency through Human-Plant Studies (HPS)". Societies. 2 (3): 101–121. doi:10.3390/soc2030101.

[7] Hayles, N. Katherine (2019). "Can Computers Create Meanings? A Cyber/Bio/Semiotic Perspective". Critical Inquiry. 46 (1): 32–55. doi:10.1086/705303. ISSN 0093-1896. S2CID 202953465.

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