Information and semiosis in living systems: A semiotic approach

Claus Emmeche; João Queiroz; Charbel Niño El-Hani

doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-9650-1_20

Information and semiosis in living systems: A semiotic approach

Claus Emmeche, João Queiroz, Charbel Niño El-Hani

History and Philosophy of Science and Science Studies

Abstract

During the 1950s and 1960s, genetics and cell and molecular biology have been swamped by terms borrowed from information theory. This ‘information talk’ still pervades these fields, including widely used terms such as ‘genetic code’, ‘messenger RNA’, ‘transcription’, ‘translation’, ‘transduction’, ‘genetic information’, ‘chemical signals’, ‘cell signaling’ etc. As the concept of information and its plethora of associated notions were introduced in biology, several problems emerged, with which the tradition of biology was unprepared to cope. Instead of deepening the discussion about ‘information talk’, the trend in the biological sciences was one of treating ‘information’ as merely sequence infor-mation in DNA or proteins. Today, a number of researchers consider information talk as inadequate and ‘just metaphorical’, expressing a skepticism about the use of the term ‘information’ and its deriva-tives in biology as a natural science. We disagree with this position, claiming instead that the notion of information and other related ideas grasp some fundamental features of biological systems and proc-esses that might be otherwise neglected. Our problem is not to get rid of information talk, but rather to clarify it by using a proper theoretical framework. We intend to show that the use of semiotic concepts and theories to interpret information talk can contribute to the construction of a precise and coherent account of information in biology. For this purpose, we introduce here a model of information as semiosis, grounded on Peircean semiotics. Peirce’s formal science of signs provides an analytic framework in which information can be modeled as a pragmatic triadic dependent process that irre-ducibly connects signs, objects, and interpretants (effects on interpreters). According to the model developed in this paper, information is treated as semiosis, i.e., the communication of a form or habit from an object to an interpretant through a sign, so as to constrain (in general) the interpretant as a sign or (in biological systems) the interpreter’s behavior. We employ this treatment of information for building an account of genes as signs and genetic information as semiosis.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Essential readings in biosemiotics. : Anthology and commentary.
Editors	Don Favareau
Number of pages	27
Place of Publication	Dordrecht
Publisher	Springer
Publication date	2010
Pages	629-656
ISBN (Print)	978-1-4020-9649-5
ISBN (Electronic)	978-1-4020-9650-1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9650-1_20
Publication status	Published - 2010

Series	Biosemiotics
Volume	3

Keywords

Faculty of Science
biosemiotics
genetics
science studies
theory of information

Access to Document

10.1007/978-1-4020-9650-1_20

Cite this

@inbook{7fe18cf0deb111dfb933000ea68e967b,

title = "Information and semiosis in living systems: A semiotic approach",

abstract = "During the 1950s and 1960s, genetics and cell and molecular biology have been swamped by terms borrowed from information theory. This {\textquoteleft}information talk{\textquoteright} still pervades these fields, including widely used terms such as {\textquoteleft}genetic code{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}messenger RNA{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}transcription{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}translation{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}transduction{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}genetic information{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}chemical signals{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}cell signaling{\textquoteright} etc. As the concept of information and its plethora of associated notions were introduced in biology, several problems emerged, with which the tradition of biology was unprepared to cope. Instead of deepening the discussion about {\textquoteleft}information talk{\textquoteright}, the trend in the biological sciences was one of treating {\textquoteleft}information{\textquoteright} as merely sequence infor-mation in DNA or proteins. Today, a number of researchers consider information talk as inadequate and {\textquoteleft}just metaphorical{\textquoteright}, expressing a skepticism about the use of the term {\textquoteleft}information{\textquoteright} and its deriva-tives in biology as a natural science. We disagree with this position, claiming instead that the notion of information and other related ideas grasp some fundamental features of biological systems and proc-esses that might be otherwise neglected. Our problem is not to get rid of information talk, but rather to clarify it by using a proper theoretical framework. We intend to show that the use of semiotic concepts and theories to interpret information talk can contribute to the construction of a precise and coherent account of information in biology. For this purpose, we introduce here a model of information as semiosis, grounded on Peircean semiotics. Peirce{\textquoteright}s formal science of signs provides an analytic framework in which information can be modeled as a pragmatic triadic dependent process that irre-ducibly connects signs, objects, and interpretants (effects on interpreters). According to the model developed in this paper, information is treated as semiosis, i.e., the communication of a form or habit from an object to an interpretant through a sign, so as to constrain (in general) the interpretant as a sign or (in biological systems) the interpreter{\textquoteright}s behavior. We employ this treatment of information for building an account of genes as signs and genetic information as semiosis. ",

keywords = "Faculty of Science, biosemiotik, genetik, videnskabsteori, informationsteori, biosemiotics, genetics, science studies, theory of information",

author = "Claus Emmeche and Jo{\~a}o Queiroz and El-Hani, {Charbel Ni{\~n}o}",

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language = "English",

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AU - Emmeche, Claus

AU - Queiroz, João

AU - El-Hani, Charbel Niño

PY - 2010

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N2 - During the 1950s and 1960s, genetics and cell and molecular biology have been swamped by terms borrowed from information theory. This ‘information talk’ still pervades these fields, including widely used terms such as ‘genetic code’, ‘messenger RNA’, ‘transcription’, ‘translation’, ‘transduction’, ‘genetic information’, ‘chemical signals’, ‘cell signaling’ etc. As the concept of information and its plethora of associated notions were introduced in biology, several problems emerged, with which the tradition of biology was unprepared to cope. Instead of deepening the discussion about ‘information talk’, the trend in the biological sciences was one of treating ‘information’ as merely sequence infor-mation in DNA or proteins. Today, a number of researchers consider information talk as inadequate and ‘just metaphorical’, expressing a skepticism about the use of the term ‘information’ and its deriva-tives in biology as a natural science. We disagree with this position, claiming instead that the notion of information and other related ideas grasp some fundamental features of biological systems and proc-esses that might be otherwise neglected. Our problem is not to get rid of information talk, but rather to clarify it by using a proper theoretical framework. We intend to show that the use of semiotic concepts and theories to interpret information talk can contribute to the construction of a precise and coherent account of information in biology. For this purpose, we introduce here a model of information as semiosis, grounded on Peircean semiotics. Peirce’s formal science of signs provides an analytic framework in which information can be modeled as a pragmatic triadic dependent process that irre-ducibly connects signs, objects, and interpretants (effects on interpreters). According to the model developed in this paper, information is treated as semiosis, i.e., the communication of a form or habit from an object to an interpretant through a sign, so as to constrain (in general) the interpretant as a sign or (in biological systems) the interpreter’s behavior. We employ this treatment of information for building an account of genes as signs and genetic information as semiosis.

AB - During the 1950s and 1960s, genetics and cell and molecular biology have been swamped by terms borrowed from information theory. This ‘information talk’ still pervades these fields, including widely used terms such as ‘genetic code’, ‘messenger RNA’, ‘transcription’, ‘translation’, ‘transduction’, ‘genetic information’, ‘chemical signals’, ‘cell signaling’ etc. As the concept of information and its plethora of associated notions were introduced in biology, several problems emerged, with which the tradition of biology was unprepared to cope. Instead of deepening the discussion about ‘information talk’, the trend in the biological sciences was one of treating ‘information’ as merely sequence infor-mation in DNA or proteins. Today, a number of researchers consider information talk as inadequate and ‘just metaphorical’, expressing a skepticism about the use of the term ‘information’ and its deriva-tives in biology as a natural science. We disagree with this position, claiming instead that the notion of information and other related ideas grasp some fundamental features of biological systems and proc-esses that might be otherwise neglected. Our problem is not to get rid of information talk, but rather to clarify it by using a proper theoretical framework. We intend to show that the use of semiotic concepts and theories to interpret information talk can contribute to the construction of a precise and coherent account of information in biology. For this purpose, we introduce here a model of information as semiosis, grounded on Peircean semiotics. Peirce’s formal science of signs provides an analytic framework in which information can be modeled as a pragmatic triadic dependent process that irre-ducibly connects signs, objects, and interpretants (effects on interpreters). According to the model developed in this paper, information is treated as semiosis, i.e., the communication of a form or habit from an object to an interpretant through a sign, so as to constrain (in general) the interpretant as a sign or (in biological systems) the interpreter’s behavior. We employ this treatment of information for building an account of genes as signs and genetic information as semiosis.

KW - Faculty of Science

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KW - genetik

KW - videnskabsteori

KW - informationsteori

KW - biosemiotics

KW - genetics

KW - science studies

KW - theory of information

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DO - 10.1007/978-1-4020-9650-1_20

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SN - 978-1-4020-9649-5

T3 - Biosemiotics

SP - 629

EP - 656

BT - Essential readings in biosemiotics.

A2 - Favareau, Don

PB - Springer

CY - Dordrecht

ER -

Information and semiosis in living systems: A semiotic approach

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Keywords

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