Semiosis stems from logical incompatibility in organic nature: Why biophysics does not see meaning, while biosemiotics does.
Kalevi Kull
Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology December 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2015.08.002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Code conflict Incompatibility Meaning making Phenomenal world Qualia Scaffolding Sign processes Specious present Time Umwelt-generating systems |
| Key points | Argues that the phenomenal world originates through the naturalization of logical conflict or incompatibility: meaning-making requires a logical conflict, logical conflict requires a phenomenal present, and incompatibility itself is proposed as the mechanism of intentionality. Meaning-making is said to be assured by "scaffolding" that is a product of earlier choices or interpretations, and the model is offered as a model of semiosis linking physiology and phenomenology. |
Abstract
We suggest here a model of the origin of the phenomenal world via the naturalization of logical conflict or incompatibility (which is broader than, but includes logical contradiction). Physics rules out the reality of meaning because of the method of formalization, which requires that logical conflicts cannot be part of the model. We argue that (a) meaning-making requires a logical conflict; (b) logical conflict assumes a phenomenal present; (c) phenomenological specious present occurs in living systems as widely as meaning-making; (d) it is possible to provide a physiological description of a system in which the phenomenal present appears and choices are made; (e) logical conflict, or incompatibility itself, is the mechanism of intentionality; (f) meaning-making is assured by scaffolding, which is a product of earlier choices, or decision-making, or interpretation. This model can be seen as a model of semiosis. It also allows putting physiology and phenomenology (or physics and semiotics) into a natural connection.