Towards a Biosemiotic Theoretical Biology

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Abstract

An edited volume bringing together 25 of today’s most forward-thinking biologists and philosophers on sign processes and meaning-making in organisms. Theoretical biology is concerned with providing science with explanatory frameworks within which to fit its findings. The relatively newer field of Biosemiotics is the study of sign processes within life processes. In the tradition of the field-changing four-volume essay collection Towards a Theoretical Biology issued by developmental biologist Conrad Hal Waddington from 1968 to 1972, this volume brings together many of today’s leading scientists to discuss what they consider to be the most important and pressing problems in our current understandings of the biological world—and how best to advance our understandings of such life processes scientifically. Contributors: Denis Noble, Terrance Deacon, Scott F. Gilbert, Stuart Kaufmann, Tom Froese, Erik L. Peterson, Richard I Vane-Wright, Charles Wolfe, Raymond Noble, Claus Emmeche, Alexei Sharov, Kalevi Kull, Donald Favareau, Arantza Etxeberria, Anton Markoš, Jana Švorcová, Daniel C. Mayer-Foulkes, Federico Vega, Henrik Nielsen, Karel Kleisner, David Cortés-García, Matt Kalkman, Georgii Karelin, Takashi Ikegami, and Mariana Vitti Rodrigues.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Philosophy and History of Science Semiotics and Representation Studies Origins and Evolution of Life

Publication details

Journal / source
The MIT Press eBooks
Publication date
4 February 2026
Language
EN
Document type
Book