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biosemiotics, ambiente, umwelt · 2008-01-30 by mmzz

Nella riflessione sul codice e l’identità vi è un ‘elemento centrale che mi sembra la semiotica abbia cercato di affrontare. Nell’input di un sistema a mio avviso vanno distinti dati e codice, ovvero input che altera il comportamento e input che non lo altera, e che alimenta la produzione di un output invariato. Il termostato continua a produrre regolazione di temperatura qualsiasi sia il suo input, mentre un sistema sociale o vivente può cambiare output perché nel suo input ha ricevuto l’equivalente di un nuovo programma. Un’idea, un modo di vita, del DNA cambiano il modo in cui il sistema si relaziona con l’ambiente.

Sharov in una presentazione del concetto di Umwelt proprio della biosemiotica associa un sistema al suo ambiente, in una prospettiva epistemologica precisa (“pragmatismo”) per cui

Most ecologists assume that all organisms in the ecosystem share the same environment, but Uexküll thought that organisms may have different Umwelts even if they live in the same place. A stem of a blooming flower is perceived differently by an ant, cicada-larva, cow, and human.[…] On the contrary, Umwelt is subjective and is not accessible for direct measurement for the same reason that we have no direct access to perceptions of other people. e che
it is impossible to separate the structure of an organism from its Umwelt

inoltre questo detemina una particolare definizione di spazio

Umwelt-theory gives a new interpretation of space. Instead of a Newtonian absolute and transcendental space, Uexküll considers a functional space of an organism. Most biologists think that space exists independently from organisms that inhabit it. Uexküll viewed it differently: animals construct their own space by establishing relationships between meaning-carriers (i.e., signs). This does not mean that organisms do not interact; but an interaction is interpreted differently by each participant depending on its own model of space. The most primitive space is mapped on organism’s body. Signals are identified according to the location of receptors on the body. More smart animals can identify objects at a distance; their space can be viewed as a set of objects that they know. Fast-moving animals can measure distance; hence they perceive space as a volume that contains various things.

la percezione dello spazi che ne discende è totalmente soggettiva.

Perception of space is intrinsically related to the hierarchical structure of living organisms. Signs perceived by a sensor cell are transferred and then interpreted by the whole organism in a double way: as a location of that sensor cell in the organism (local sign) and as a content of the signal (content sign).