Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
FIRSTNESS
(
Complementarity in Metaphysics
)
SECONDNESS
THIRDNESS
(
Complementarity in Physics
)
(
Complementarity in Life Sciences
)
Fig. 6.6 The three modes of being of the generalized complementarity (Ji 1995). This diagram
suggests the possibility that
life sciences
as Thirdness may serve as the mediator between
metaphysics
and
physics. Life science
may be viewed as synonymous with
cognitive sciences,
since all organisms are cognizant of and interact with their environment
. The three nodes of the
which in turn gave rise to Thirdness
6.2.4 Macrosemiotics versus Microsemiotics: The Sebeok
Doctrine of Signs
As indicated in Sect.
6.2
, we can divide semiotics into two branches - the
macrosemiotics
dealing with macroscopic signs such as written words and texts,
and the
microsemiotics
concerned with molecular signs such as DNA, cytokines,
and neurotransmitters, etc. Peirce did not have access to the empirical evidence that
came to light only in the mid-twentieth century, that semiotic processes are not
confined to the macroscopic world (
macrosemiosis
) but also occur on the molecular
level (
microsemiosis
). The possibility of extending Peircean semiotics from mac-
roscale to microscale was clearly foreseen by Sebeok in 1968 when he wrote (as
cited in Deely 2001):
...
the genetic code must be regarded as the most fundamental of all semiotic networks and
therefore as the prototype for all other signaling systems used by animals, including man.
From this point of view, molecules that are quantum systems, acting as stable physical
information carriers, zoosemiotic systems, and, finally, cultural systems, comprehending
language, constitute a natural sequel of stages of ever more complex energy levels in a single
universal evolution. It is possible, therefore, to describe language as well as living systems
from unified cybernetic standpoint
A mutual appreciation of genetics, animal communi-
cation studies, and linguistics may lead to a full understanding of the dynamics of semiotics,
and this may, in the last analysis, turn out to be no less than the definition of life.
...
(6.25)
Elsewhere (Ji 2001), it was suggested that Statement 6.25 be referred to as the
Sebeok doctrine of signs
for convenience of reference.
The first full-length paper on microsemiotics was published in (Ji 2002a).
Despite the enormous difference in the sizes of the sign processors involved in
macro- and microsemiosis (see Table
6.9
below), it is surprising that there exists a
