Photos from Urbino conference

A photo gallery from the third code biology conference (held in Urbino in May) is now online. Excerpt below.

Photos from 2nd code biology conference

Photos from the 2nd International Conference in Code Biology (Jena June 16-20th) are now available online. 

Photo of me presenting at the 2nd International Conference in Code Biology.

Lunch break. Thinking, or just digesting?

Another photo from my presentation - with title slide.

Me left, President Johnson right.

Talking with Jannie Hofmeyr (left) and Tim Ireland (right) outside the conference dinner venue.

General Assembly of ISCB attended

On June 10th I attended the (very brief) General Assembly of the International Society of Code Biology (ISCB), in Jena, Germany, which took place during the 2nd code biology conference. I have since the foundation of the ISCB in the autumn of 2012 been a member of the Governing Board, and still am.

Abstract for Jena: "Umwelt codes exemplified by Umwelt alignment in corvids"

Today I have submitted the abstract below to the 2nd International Conference in Code Biology (Jena, Germany, June 17-19).

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Umwelt codes exemplified by Umwelt alignment in corvids

Morten Tønnessen, University of Stavanger

I have previously suggested that there are different Umwelt codes, which can be categorised as either CODE_fix (fixed Umwelt codes) or CODE_flex (flexible Umwelt codes). While neural codes are examples of CODE_fix, ecological codes are instances of CODE_flex.

Some corvids, including crows, evidently prosper in part due to their relationships with human settlements and anthropogenic food sources. However, actual human-corvid relationships are typically somewhat distanced – likely because, for one thing, corvids are often treated by humans as pest species.  In this paper I will look into the Umwelt alignment (cf. Tønnessen 2014) between corvids including crows on one hand and human beings on the other. My hypothesis is that Umwelt alignment must typically involve ecological codes (Umwelt codes).

What is Umwelt alignment? In dictionaries, “alignment” signifies an adjustment to a line, or arrangement into a straight line; a state of agreement or cooperation; the proper positioning or state of adjustment of parts in relation to each other; etc. Crucially, alignment can denote processes or states of fitting-in with others. If we define Umwelt alignment as the process of adjustment by one creature to the presence and manifestation of other Umwelt creatures (and further, to abiotic Umwelt objects and meaning factors), we realize that every Umwelt dweller on this planet conducts Umwelt alignment on a regular basis, as manifested over time in concrete functional cycles (see Uexküll 2010 [1934/1940]: 49).

Not all Umwelt alignment is mutual and cooperative. If Umwelt alignment is a universal phenomenon, then there must also be Umwelt alignment among natural enemies, and among competitors. Keeping a certain distance can be seen as emblematic of Umwelt alignment. The spatial distribution of specimens is central in human and animal social life as well as in terms of human ecology and general ecology, and is relevant in the current context to the extent that spatial distribution is arranged by way of Umwelt creatures with deliberate adjustment to the presence of others. Here we observe not only various forms of natural (autonomous) Umwelt alignment, but further instances of coerced Umwelt alignment, a phenomenon which is enforced and motivated more or less exclusively by human utility. The regulatory mechanism of Umwelt alignment thus ranges from symbiotic strategies to more competitive forms of coexistence. In all cases, however, various forms of synchronicity are key.

A study of Umwelt alignment between corvids and humans can expectedly shed light on human-corvid co-evolution, corvid Umwelten, and current human ecology.

References

Tønnessen, Morten 2014. Umwelt Trajectories. Semiotica 198 (Special Issue on zoosemiotics, guest-edited by Timo Maran): 159–180.

Uexküll, Jakob von 2010 [1934/1940]. A foray into the worlds of animals and humans – with A theory of meaning (Posthumanities 12), Joseph D. O’Neil (trans.). Minneapolis & London: University of Minnesota Press.

Acknowledgement: This work has been supported by the research project “Animals in Changing Environments: Cultural Mediation and Semiotic Analysis” (EEA Norway Grants/Norway Financial Mechanism 20009-2014 under project contract no. EMP151).

"Umwelt codes" - preliminary title for Jena paper

Today I have decided on a preliminary title for my abstract/paper for the 2nd international conference in code biology, which is to be held in Jena, Germany, June 16-20th 2015: "Umwelt codes".

Code biology conference: General assembly, roundtable attended

On Friday May 23rd, while at the 1st International Conference in Code Biology (Paris, May 21-23), I attended the first General Assembly of the International Society of Code Biology (ISCB) - which was very brief (approving financial report and formally also the venue for the second conference) - and the concluding roundtable discussion (cf. programme).

See also:

Codes and interpretation paper presented

Afternoon session chaired at 1st code biology conference

Second code biology conference, 2015

Codes and interpretation paper presented

On Friday 23rd of May I presented my paper "Codes and interpretation in perception" at the 1st International Conference in Code Biology (May 21-23, Paris). Some 30 people attended. Discussion following my presentation was positive and constructive.

Afternoon session chaired at 1st code biology conference

On Thursday 22nd of May I chaired the afternoon session at the First International Conference in Code Biology in Paris (apart from half an hour where Jannie Hofmeyr kindly stepped in for me). Some 30 people attended. Speakers included Han-liang Chang, Louis Goldberg, Liz Swan, Candice Shelby, Anna Aragno and João Carlos Major.

Second code biology conference, 2015

The second international conference in code biology will take place in Jena, Germany. The conference will be organised by Peter Dittrich.

See also:
ISCB launches annual conference series - 2017 conference to be organised in Norway by me

To chair session at first code biology conference

I have agreed to chair the afternoon session May 22nd at the upcoming 1st International Conference in Code Biology (Paris, France, May 21-23, 2014) (see program here, abstract book here), at 15 to 18.30. 

Code biology abstract book

The abstract book of the upcoming First International Conference in Code Biology (Paris May 21-23) is now online. My abstract, "Codes and interpretation in perception", is to be found on p. 30.

See also:

"Codes and interpretation in perception" scheduled for presentation May 23rd (Paris)

"Codes and interpretation in perception" scheduled for presentation May 23rd (Paris)

My paper "Codes and interpretation in perception" has been scheduled for presentation at First International Conference in Code Biology (Paris May 21-23) on Friday May 23rd at 12.00-12.30.

Full programme (presenter last name and time) here.

See also:

Abstract for 1st code biology conference: "Codes and interpretation in perception"

Why I joined the ISCB

As promised in the post "ISCB launches annual conference series - 2017 conference to be organised in Norway by me", here comes my blog post "Why I joined the ISCB". The ISCB is short for the International Society for Code Biology. It was constituted/incorporated in Ferrara, Italy, on November 28th 2012, with the following Governing Board/founding members: 

• Marcello Barbieri (president)
• Jan-Hendrik Hofmeyr (vice-president)
• Almo Farina (secretary)
• Peter Wills (treasurer)
• Stefan Artmann
• Joachim De Beule
• Peter Dittrich
• Dennis Görlich
• Stefan Kühn
• Chris Ottolenghi
• Liz Stillwaggon Swan
• Morten Tønnessen

In an email November 30th announcing the establishment of the society, Marcello Barbieri wrote:

Code Biology is the study of all codes of life with the standard methods of science, and this makes of it the sole discipline that can prove the existence of semiosis in all living systems. Its purpose is nothing less than the rewriting of biology in order to include in it the countless codes that appeared after the genetic code and before the codes of culture, together with their theoretical implications. This is the challenge that lies ahead and this letter is announcing the beginning of that momentous enterprise. 

Applications for membership of the Code Biology Society are welcome from scholars of all relevant disciplines, including biology, philosophy, semiotics, cognitive science, information theory, linguistics, anthropology and ecology.

Marcello asked me whether I would be willing to be a founding member of the ISCB in an email October 16th. I replied that my long-time collaborators in Tartu "remain important colleagues and contacts for me, and that is how I would like it to go on as well." Furthermore:

In principle I am indeed interested in being a founding member of the ISCB. But there are conditions. First, before putting my name on any list I would like to see the statutes, or a draft of them, to get a sense of what the society is about and how it will work. Second, you should be aware that I am a person who speaks his mind even when in minority, and in situations such as the one in the ISBS this last year I might feel responsible to speak out (particularly if noone else does), no matter who is in charge and no matter who does things I find worthy of criticism. What I treasure is particularly organisational democrazy, scholarly pluralism, and constructive theoretical synthesis. 

Now, one reason to decline your invitation would be that it is likely that some biosemiotic scholars will misunderstand what me being part of the ISCB implies. Noteworthy, it could be perceived as sidetaking – siding with you personally (against Jesper) or preferring code biology to other kinds of biosemiotics. Therefore, let me make it absolutely clear: I treasure being undogmatic and open-minded, and I do not side with specific persons (only with ideas and principles). I want to contribute to holding all biosemioticians to certain standards, in terms both scientific and organisational. I think that several code biologists, including you, do a lot of valuable biosemiotic work (and I would like to take advantage of that in my own work, and when natural by way of direct cooperation). That is why I am interested in being a founding member of the ISCB. To avoid misunderstandings, however, I would without doubt feel the need to write in public (perhaps in a forum or on a discussion list, or at the very least in my academic blog Utopian Realism) what it implies, and what it does not imply, that I have become a member of the ISCB. My aim would be to not close any doors, and to maintain and further develop contact with interesting biosemioticians of all kinds.

I added, amongst other things, that "[t]ruly constructive synthesis is always desirable, but "compromises" motivated by reaching agreement only is more likely to be contraproductive. The key point at this stage is to aim systematically for constructive synthesis and not to block any ideas simply because they derive from the "wrong" persons".

In reply to my email, Marcello wrote that all that I had written was "perfectly acceptable".

ISCB launches annual conference series - 2017 conference to be organised in Norway by me

The International Socity for Code Biology (ISCB), where I am a member of the Governing Board, is making plans for an annual conference series which will start in 2014. As can be seen from the partial overview below, I have been asked, and agreed, to organise the 4th conference in Norway, in 2017.

• 1st International Conference in Code Biology (2014): Paris, France - organised by Chris Ottolenghi
• 3rd International Conference in Code Biology (2016): Urbino, Italy - organised by Almo Farina
• 4th International Conference in Code Biology (2017): Stavanger*, Norway - organised by Morten Tønnessen
• 5th International Conference in Code Biology (2018): Braga, Portugal - organised by João Carlos Major
• 7th International Conference in Code Biology (2020): Stellenbosch, South Africa - organised by Jannie Hofmeyr

* depending on where I'll be working

I will soon post on Why I joined the ISCB, a post which will make clear how I am relating to the current split in the biosemiotic community. For now, let it suffice to say that I will only regard the enterprise of the International Conferences in Code Biology as truly successful if they result in greater and not less interest in biosemiotics as a field. Consequently, a measure of their value will be whether they bring more people into biosemiotics, or simply contribute to fragmentation of the biosemiotic community. A further criterion for success is naturally how the ISCB conference series will affect the overall development of the discipline of biosemiotics in qualitative terms. 

At any rate, from 2014 onwards there will be two annual conference series in biosemiotics. The already established conference series is the International Gatherings in Biosemiotics (organised by the International Society for Biosemiotic Studies, ISBS), the 13th of which is to be held in Castiglioncello, Italy this June.

UiS profile updated

My profile webpage at the University of Stavanger has been updated with links, 2012 publications and new elected positions.