The human turn in biosemiotics
The human turn in biosemiotics

Summary/Abstract: Language is meaningless per se. The meaning of language or more widely, semiotics, comes through the interrelation between agents that form and constructively constrain each other. No semiosis occurs in a vacuum; instead it occurs in histories with geographic and temporal links. Which language or form of semiosis we use to convey and converge upon meaning is unimportant in communication. Crucial however, is that we come to an under standing with our surrounding co-actants as deeply as possible, to minimize the resources misspent on misunderstanding. Equally, this applies to the gap between the real and the rational; the larger the disconnect between objects and how they are perceived, the more precarious and potentially undermining the relation becomes. Coming to understandings with others is accomplished sometimes effortlessly, other times violently.

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