Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 6.3 Genes encoded in DNA as an example of Peircean signs at the molecular level. The role
of interpretant is suggested to be fulfilled by
cell states
, and the interpreter of DNA is postulated to
be the
cell
itself represented by the triangle. This definition seems to be consistent with the finding
that only a select set of genes are expressed in cells at any given time and under any given
environmental condition depending on the internal state of the cell (Nishikawa et al. 2008)
Ontological Process
Semiosis
Cells
Mind
Language
Semiotics
Epistemological Process
Fig. 6.4 The cyclical, or reversible, relation between
semiosis
and
semiotics
. The expression
“A -
B” should be read as “B presupposes A” or “B cannot exist without A.” The
upper arrow
from
left
to
right
indicates the
ontological
process in the Universe known as
evolution
, while the
lower arrow
from
right
to
left
signifies the
epistemological
causal relation resulting from the
inferential activities of the human mind. It is assumed that ontological processes are independent
of the human mind but epistemological processes are dependent on it. This figure is consistent
with the principle of closure discussed in Sect.
6.3.2
>
state the cell is in, leading to the following diagrammatic representation of DNA as
a sign (Ji 2002a) (Fig.
6.3
).
Peirce distinguished between
semiotics
and
semiosis
. Semiotics is the systematic
knowledge that human mind has created about semiosis based on empirical data,
while semiosis refers to the totality of the natural and artificial processes whose
occurrence requires the mediating role of signs. Thus, we may logically conclude
that,
although semiotics depends on human mind, semiosis does not.
The causal
relation between
semiotics
and
semiosis
may be represented diagrammatically as
shown in Fig.
6.4
.
6.2.2 The Principle of Irreducible Triadicity:
The Metaphysics of Peirce
According to the metaphysics of Peirce, all phenomena, material or mental, living or
nonliving, comprise three basic elements or aspects -
Firstness
(e.g., quality,
