Biosemiotics: Information, Codes and Signs in Living SystemsMarcello Barbieri This book presents contexts and associations of the semiotic view in biology, by making a short review of the history of the trends and ideas of biosemiotics, or semiotic biology, in parallel with theoretical biology. Biosemiotics can be defined as the science of signs in living systems. A principal and distinctive characteristic of semiotic biology lies in the understanding that in living, entities do not interact like mechanical bodies, but rather as messages, the pieces of text. This means that the whole determinism is of another type. |
Contents
| 1 | |
Codeduality and the Semiotics of Nature | 27 |
Beyond Bioinformatics Can Similarity be Measured in the Digital World? | 65 |
Life is ArtifactMaking | 81 |
Genetics as a Communication Process Involving ErrorCorrecting Codes | 103 |
Semiotics for Biologists | 141 |
Modeling Systems Theory | 155 |
Natural History or Natural System? Encoding the Textual Sign | 165 |
Biosemiotics as a Structural Science Between the Forms of Life and the Life of Forms | 179 |
Meaning in Nature Placing Biosemiotics within Pansemiotics | 207 |
The Physics and Metaphysics of Biosemiotics | 219 |
Biosemiotics As a Mode of Thermodynamics in Second Person Description | 235 |
| 249 | |
Common terms and phrases
according actually analog animal appear approach become biology biosemiotics body called cell channel communication complex concept considered consilience constraints construction context copying course culture Darwin defined dependence described distinction dynamics encoder energy engineering error error-correcting evolution evolutionary example existence expressed fact figure formal function genes genetic genome human important individual interpretation kind knowledge language laws linguistic Linnaeus living living systems logic material mathematical meaning measurement mechanism mind molecular molecules natural selection object observation operation organic organic codes origin particular physical possible present probability problem properties proteins quantum question referred relation represent requires result rules seen semantic semiosis semiotic sense sequence sexual reproduction similarity specific structure symbols Tartu temperature theoretical theory transformation understanding University Press York