How Peircean semiotic philosophy connects Western science with Eastern emptiness ontology.

The article argues that mechanistic physicalism and info-computationalism cannot bridge the divide between the sciences and the humanities. It proposes the Cybersemiotic framework, which integrates Peirce's semiotics and Luhmann's autopoietic system theory, as an alternative. Peirce avoids materialism and German idealism by building on a concept of emptiness similar to modern quantum field theory, positing an indeterminist objective chance that feeds into an evolutionary philosophy of knowing. He created a synechist triadic process philosophy integrated with Emerson's transcendentalist view of science and spirituality, featuring a metaphysics of emptiness and spontaneity also essential to Buddhism and Vedanta.

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Abstract

In recent articles in this journal I have discussed why a traditional physicalist and mechanist, as well as an info-computationalist, view of science cannot fulfil the goal of building a transdisciplinary science across Snow's two cultures. There seems to be no path proceeding from mechanistic physicalism to views that encompass phenomenological theories of experiential consciousness and meaning-based cognition and communication. I have suggested, as an alternative, the Cybersemiotic framework's integration of Peirce's semiotics and Luhmann's autopoietic system theory. The present article considers in greater depth the ontological developments necessary to make this possible. It shows how Peirce avoids materialism and German idealism through his building on a concept of emptiness similar to modern quantum field theory, positing an indeterminist objective chance feeding into an evolutionary philosophy of knowing based on pure mathematics and phenomenology that is itself combined with empirically executed fallibilism. Furthermore, he created a new metaphysics in the form of a philosophical synechist triadic process philosophy. This was integrated into the transcendentalist view of process view of science and spirituality developed from Western Unitarianism by Emerson (agapism), and featuring a metaphysics of emptiness and spontaneity (tychism) that are also essential for the Eastern philosophies of Buddhism and Vedanta.