•  273
    Downward Determination in Semiotic Multi-level Systems
    with Charbel El-Hani
    Cybernetics and Human Knowing -- A Journal of Second Order Cybernetics, Autopoiesis & Semiotics 1 (2): 123-136. 2012.
    Peirce's pragmatic notion of semiosis can be described in terms of a multi-level system of constraints involving chance, efficient, formal and final causation. According to the model proposed here, law-like regularities, which work as boundary conditions or organizational principles, have a downward effect on the spatiotemporal distribution of lower-level semiotic items. We treat this downward determinative influence as a propensity relation: if some lower-level entities a,b,c,-n are under the i…Read more
  •  712
    The Biosemiotic Approach in Biology : Theoretical Bases and Applied Models
    with Claus Emmeche, Kalevi Kull, and Charbel El-Hani
    In George Terzis & Robert Arp (eds.), Information and Living Systems -- Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives, Mit Press. pp. 91-130. 2011.
    Biosemiotics is a growing fi eld that investigates semiotic processes in the living realm in an attempt to combine the fi ndings of the biological sciences and semiotics. Semiotic processes are more or less what biologists have typically referred to as “ signals, ” “ codes, ”and “ information processing ”in biosystems, but these processes are here understood under the more general notion of semiosis, that is, the production, action, and interpretation of signs. Thus, biosemiotics can be seen as …Read more
  •  649
    Habit in semiosis can be modeled both as a macro-level in a hierarchical multi-level system where it functions as boundary conditions for emergence of semiosis, and as a cognitive niche produced by an ecologically-inherited environment of cognitive artifacts. According to the first perspective, semiosis is modeled in terms of a multilayered system, with micro functional entities at the lower-level and with higher-level processes being mereologically composed of these lower-level entities. Accord…Read more
  •  603
    Multilevel poetry translation as a problem-solving task
    with Pedro Ata
    Cognitive Semiotics 9 (2): 139-147. 2016.
    Poems are treated by translators as hierarchical multilevel systems. Here we propose the notion of “multilevel poetry translation” to characterize such cases of poetry translation in terms of selection and rebuilding of a multilevel system of constraints across languages. Different levels of a poem correspond to different sets of components that asymmetrically constrain each other (e. g., grammar, lexicon, syntactic construction, prosody, rhythm, typography, etc.). This perspective allows a poem…Read more
  •  408
    Iconic semiosis and representational efficiency in the London Underground Diagram
    with Pedro Atã and Breno Bitarello
    Cognitive Semiotics 7 177-190. 2014.
    The icon is the type of sign connected to efficient representational features, and its manipulation reveals more information about its object. The London Underground Diagram (LUD) is an iconic artifact and a well-known example of representational efficiency, having been copied by urban transportation systems worldwide. This paper investigates the efficiency of the LUD in the light of different conceptions of iconicity. We stress that a specialized representation is an icon of the formal structur…Read more
  •  31
    Dicent Symbols in Non-Human Semiotic Processes
    Biosemiotics 5 (3): 319-329. 2012.
    Against the view that symbol-based semiosis is a human cognitive uniqueness, we have argued that non-human primates such as African vervet monkeys possess symbolic competence, as formally defined by Charles S. Peirce. Here I develop this argument by showing that the equivocal role ascribed to symbols by “folk semiotics” stems from an incomplete application of the Peircean logical framework for the classification of signs, which describes three kinds of symbols: rheme, dicent and argument. In an …Read more
  •  38
    A Digital Companion to C.S. Peirce
    with Mats Bergman and Sami Paavola
    The Commens Working Papers: Preprints, Research Reports and Scientific Communications. 2014.
    The Commens Papers (http://www.commens.org/papers) publishes preprints, reports, and communications that deal with the philosophy, scientific contributions, and life of C. S. Peirce. The Commens Papers are primarily meant for scholarly products that lack other means of publication, but which the author wishes to bring to the attention of the research community. The papers must meet editorial approval, but they are not fully peer reviewed. The Commens Papers accepts a broad variety of intellectua…Read more
  •  850
    Visualizando Signos
    Blucher. 2017.
    Os signos e as classes dos signos estão entre os tópicos mais importantes do sistema filosófico de Charles S. Peirce. As 10, 28, e 66 classes de signos são classificações desenvolvidas especialmente a partir de 1903 e representam um grande refinamento da divisão fundamental de signos – ícone, índice, símbolo. Nossa abordagem aqui define uma estratégia de visualização das classificações dos signos, com especial atenção para as 10 e 66 classes de signos. O livro está dividido em duas partes: …Read more
  • La emergencia de significado en sistemas semióticos
    Revista de Filosofía (Venezuela) 56 (2): 47-65. 2007.
    Cualquier descripción de la emergencia de significado en sistemas biológicos y artificiales debe apoyarse en un marco teórico que haga posible entender la naturaleza y la dinámica de tales procesos. En este artículo se toma la filosofía pragmática del signo de Charles S. Peirce, que asociamos aquí con el estructuralismo jerárquico de Stanley Salthe, como la base correcta para desarrollar ese marco conceptual. Se formulan algunas preguntas que consideramos fundamentales para asegurar una aplicaci…Read more
  •  64
    Os diagramas de C. S. Peirce para as dez classes de signos
    Trans/Form/Ação 36 (3): 155-172. 2013.
    Uma seção da Gramática Especulativa de C.S.Peirce – Dez classes de signos – recebeu, a partir de 1903, um importante tratamento diagramático. Neste artigo, são apresentados e discutidos dois diagramas desenvolvidos por Peirce para as dez classes, incluindo esboços desses modelos.
  •  31
    Embodied semiotic artefacts: On the role of the skin as a semiotic niche
    with Breno Bitarello
    Technoetic Arts 12 (1): 75-90. 2014.
    The skin can be described as a niche structured by semiotic artefacts (tattoos) that work as symbolic–indexical devices (dicisigns). New biocompatible technologies responsive to organic and environmental variations change the role of the skin as a semiotic niche. New devices are transforming the skin into a niche of interactive interfaces. In this article we introduce a variety of techno-scientific artefacts, which are readily available, and their main characteristics. We are interested in the r…Read more
  •  1528
    Symbols are not uniquely human
    with Sidarta Ribeiro, Angelo Loula, Ivan Araújo, and Ricardo Gudwin
    Biosystems 90 (1): 263-272. 2006.
    Modern semiotics is a branch of logics that formally defines symbol-based communication. In recent years, the semiotic classification of signs has been invoked to support the notion that symbols are uniquely human. Here we show that alarm-calls such as those used by African vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops), logically satisfy the semiotic definition of symbol. We also show that the acquisition of vocal symbols in vervet monkeys can be successfully simulated by a computer program based on m…Read more
  •  103
    We present here a digital scenario to simulate the emergence of self-organized symbol-based communication among artificial creatures inhabiting a virtual world of predatory events. In order to design the environment and creatures, we seek theoretical and empirical constraints from C.S.Peirce Semiotics and an ethological case study of communication among animals. Our results show that the creatures, assuming the role of sign users and learners, behave collectively as a complex system, where self-…Read more
  •  1234
    Firefly Femmes Fatales: A Case Study in the Semiotics of Deception
    with Charbel N. El-Hani and Frederik Stjernfelt
    Biosemiotics 3 (1): 33-55. 2010.
    Mimicry and deception are two important issues in studies about animal communication. The reliability of animal signs and the problem of the benefits of deceiving in sign exchanges are interesting topics in the evolution of communication. In this paper, we intend to contribute to an understanding of deception by studying the case of aggressive signal mimicry in fireflies, investigated by James Lloyd. Firefly femmes fatales are specialized in mimicking the mating signals of other species of firef…Read more
  •  72
    Peirce's classifications of signs started to be developed in 1865 and it extends up to 1909. I will present on the period that begins in 1865, and that has two moments of intense production - "On a New List of Categories"and "On the Algebra of Logic: a contribution to the philosophy of notation". It is an introductory approach whose intention is to make the reader be familiar with the Peircean complex classifications of signs.
  •  38
    The classifications of signs are among the most important topics of Peirce's theory of signs. The 10 classes of signs were developed from 1903 and represent an important refinement of the fundamental division of signs into icons, indexes, and symbols. In this paper we present two diagrammatic models for 10 classes, proposed by Peirce, and an interpretation of the reasoning behind their development, based on the analysis of preparatory versions of these models.
  •  19
    Grafos existenciais de CS Peirce: uma introdução ao sistema alfa
    with Lafayette de Moraes
    Cognitio 2 112-133. 2001.
  •  16
    Modos de irredutibilidade das propriedades emergentes
    with Charbel Niño El-Hani
    Scientiae Studia 3 (1): 9-41. 2005.
  •  1342
    Semiosis and intersemiotic translation
    Semiotica 2013 (196): 283-292. 2013.
    This paper explores Victoria Welby's fundamental assumption of meaning process (“semiosis” sensu Peirce) as translation, and some implications for the development of a general model of intersemiotic translation.
  •  17
    Sobre a Forma do Signo e da Semiose
    with Charbel Niño El-Hani
    Cognitio 11 (1): 122-138. 2010.
    Como representar, por intermédio de modelo geométrico, diagramático, gráfico ou topológico, o signo e a semiose é uma questão cujo tratamento recorrente, por especialistas na obra de C.S. Peirce, sugere a medida de sua importância. Nossos propósitos aqui são: (i) definir signo e semiose, (ii) definir sumariamente “modelo”, (iii) apresentar diversos modelos da semiose, (iv) relacionar os modelos com algumas constrições derivadas da teoria das categorias de Peirce, e, finalmente, (v) apresentar um…Read more
  • Downward Determination
    with Charbel El Hani
    Abstracta 1 (2): 162-192. 2005.
    The problem of downward causation – i.e., the problem of the nature of the influence of a system or whole over its components – is highly debated in the literature on property emergence. Nevertheless, most treatments of downward causation do not really refer to causation at all, but rather to explanation and/or determination, as Menno Hulswit recently argued. In this context, it is quite important to search for an understanding of how the roles usually ascribed to systems relatively to their com…Read more
  •  13
    Introdução ao Sistema Beta dos Grafos Existenciais de CS Peirce
    with Lafayette de Moraes
    Cognitio 5 (1): 28-43. 2004.
  •  1
    La emergencia de significado en sistemas semióticos
    with Charbel Niño El-Hani
    Revista de Filosofía (Venezuela) 56 (2): 47-65. 2007.
    Cualquier descripción de la emergencia de significado en sistemas biológicos y artificiales debe apoyarse en un marco teórico que haga posible entender la naturaleza y la dinámica de tales procesos. En este artículo se toma la filosofía pragmática del signo de Charles S. Peirce, que asociamos aquí con el estructuralismo jerárquico de Stanley Salthe, como la base correcta para desarrollar ese marco conceptual. Se formulan algunas preguntas que consideramos fundamentales para asegurar una aplicaci…Read more
  •  92
    Towards the emergence of meaning processes in computers from Peircean semiotics
    with Antônio Gomes, Ricardo Gudwin, and Charbel Niño El-Hani
    Mind and Society 6 (2): 173-187. 2007.
    In this work, we propose a computational approach to the triadic model of Peircean semiosis (meaning processes). We investigate theoretical constraints about the feasibility of simulated semiosis. These constraints, which are basic requirements for the simulation of semiosis, refer to the synthesis of irreducible triadic relations (Sign–Object–Interpretant). We examine the internal organization of the triad S–O–I, that is, the relative position of its elements and how they relate to each other. …Read more
  •  78
    Towards a multi-level approach to the emergence of meaning processes in living systems
    with Charbel Niño El-Hani
    Acta Biotheoretica 54 (3): 179-206. 2006.
    Any description of the emergence and evolution of different types of meaning processes (semiosis, sensu C.S.Peirce) in living systems must be supported by a theoretical framework which makes it possible to understand the nature and dynamics of such processes. Here we propose that the emergence of semiosis of different kinds can be understood as resulting from fundamental interactions in a triadically-organized hierarchical process. To grasp these interactions, we develop a model grounded on Stan…Read more
  •  26
    Based on formal-theoretical principles about the sign processes involved, we have built synthetic experiments to investigate the emergence of communication based on symbols and indexes in a distributed system of sign users, following theoretical constraints from C.S.Peirce theory of signs, following a Synthetic Semiotics approach. In this paper, we summarize these computational experiments and results regarding associative learning processes of symbolic sign modality and cognitive conditions in …Read more
  •  23
    Introdução ao Sistema Beta dos Grafos Existenciais de C.S. Peirce
    with Lafayette de Moraes
    Cognitio 5 (1): 28-43. 2004.
    Os grafos existenciais (GE) são uma notação lógica de caráter topológico e estão entre as mais originais invenções de C.S. Peirce (1839-1914). Trata-se de um sistema gráfico de diagramas lógicos por meio do qual, segundo Peirce, “qualquer desenvolvimento do pensamento pode ser representado com precisão” (CP 4.530). Eles se dividem em três subsistemas – alfa, beta e gama –, aproximadamente equivalentes ao cálculo proposicional clássico, ao cálculo de predicados clássico de primeira ordem, e a um …Read more