Abstract
Abstract The current chapter addresses a fundamental question: Why are there sign-mediated interactions in living systems? According to Polanyi, biological hierarchies are constituted through boundary conditions. I argue that signs, or more accurately the processes of signification, function as these boundary conditions. Moreover, based on general insights from the physics of computation, I argue that the organism cannot be computed directly from the DNA without the loss of critical information. In this context, signs as boundary conditions mediate the biological construction in a way that prevents the loss of information and destabilization of the DNA.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Towards a Semiotic Biology |
Subtitle of host publication | Life is the Action of Signs |
Editors | Claus Emmeche, Kalevi kull |
Publisher | Imperial College Press |
Pages | 195-209 |
Number of pages | 15 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-1-84816-687-5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2011 |