Abstract This article conceptualizes contemporary geopolitical violence in the Arctic through a semiotic register. Different living beings perceive different things, and these differences amount to different worlds, not merely different worldviews. Building on Eduardo Kohn's reading of the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce, and theorists of biosemiotics and ecosemiotics, the article analyses how signs in and between living organisms and their environments are political matters of life and death. Via the themes of invisibility, colors, and snow, the article traces semiotic relations between different living beings and their Arctic ecologies to weave a semiotic understanding of contemporary geopolitical violence in the Arctic and the role of climate change therein. The article defines the violence of climate change as a violence of not being able to recognize oneself, and builds on Eduardo Viveiros de Castro's concept of multinaturalism to explain what it means that one world ruins other worlds.
This article conceptualizes contemporary geopolitical violence in the Arctic through a semiotic register. Different living beings perceive different things, and these differences amount to different worlds, not merely different worldviews. Building on Eduardo Kohn's reading of the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce, and theorists of biosemiotics and ecosemiotics, the article analyses how signs in and between living organisms and their environments are political matters of life and death. Via the themes of invisibility, colors, and snow, the article traces semiotic relations between different living beings and their Arctic ecologies to weave a semiotic understanding of contemporary geopolitical violence in the Arctic and the role of climate change therein. The article defines the violence of climate change as a violence of not being able to recognize oneself, and builds on Eduardo Viveiros de Castro's concept of multinaturalism to explain what it means that one world ruins other worlds. ; publishedVersion ; Peer reviewed
Remain up-to-date. and acknowledge the interdisciplinary continuum that semiotics uncovers. This event, chaired by William Passarini (Mansarda Acesa) and to be commented on by Gonçalo Santos (Research Centre for Anthropology and Health), is part of the activities of the 2022 International Open Seminar on Semiotics: a Tribute to John Deely on the Fifth Anniversary of His Passing, cooperatively organized by the Institute for Philosophical Studies of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra, the Lyceum Institute, the Deely Project, Saint Vincent College, the Iranian Society for Phenomenology at the Iranian Political Science Association, the International Association for Semiotics of Space and Time, the Institute for Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Semiotic Society of America, the American Maritain Association, the International Association for Semiotic Studies, the International Society for Biosemiotic Studies, the International Center for Semiotics and Intercultural Dialogue, Moscow State Academic University for the Humanities and the Mansarda Acesa with the support of the FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of the Government of Portugal under the UID/FIL/00010/2020 project. *** Anton Markoš is a theoretical biologist and associate professor at the Department of Philosophy and History of Science of the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague. In his writings, he focuses on cell and evolutionary biology and biosemiotics from the hermeneutical, historical and philosophical point of view. Among his many scientific and popular books and articles are Epigenetic Processes and the Evolution of Life (w/ Jana Švorcová; CRC Press 2019), Readers of the Book of Life (Oxford University Press 2002), or Life as its own Designer: Darwin´s Origin and Western Thought (w/ Filip Grygar, László Hajnal, Karel Kleisner, Zdenek Kratochvíl, Zdenek Neubauer; Springer 2009). *** Gonçalo ...
In this article, I reflect on my own practice in translating Duncan Bà ; n Macintyre&rsquo ; s eighteenth-century Gaelic poem, Moladh Beinn Dó ; bhrain, into a twenty-first century &lsquo ; ecopoem&rsquo ; . Macintyre&rsquo ; s Moladh Beinn Dó ; bhrain has been praised for its naturalism. My translation of this long poem emphasises the immediacy and biological specificity of Macintyre&rsquo ; s descriptions. I explore how the act of translation might intersect with contemporary ecological concerns. My poem is not simply a translation, but incorporates Moladh Beinn Dó ; bhrain into a new work which juxtaposes a free English version of Macintyre&rsquo ; s work with original material concerned with contemporary research into deer behaviour and ideas of ecological interconnectedness, including biosemiotics and Timothy Morton&rsquo ; s &lsquo ; dark ecology&rsquo ; . This article is a reflection on my production of a twenty-first century excavation and reimagining of Macintyre&rsquo ; s Moladh Beinn Dó ; bhrain. I consider how the difficulties of translation might be turned into imaginative opportunities, and explore how translation has the potential to function as exposition and expansion of an original text, in order to create a poem which is itself an ecosystem, comprising of multiple ecological, cultural and political interactions.
Рассматривается процесс формирования новой междисциплинарной науки – меметики, объектом исследования которой являются исторические, культурные, политические, социальные, кономические и иные типы мемов. Анализируются взаимоотношения меметики с социальной наукой. Обосновывается вывод о том, что меметика становится тем направлением социальной семиотики, которое связывает ее с различными видами семиотических исследований (биосемиотикой, киберсемиотикой, политической семиотикой, семиотикой культуры, экономической семиотикой и др.). ; The process of formation of a new interdisciplinary science – memetics, which studies historical, cultural, political, social, economic and other types of memes is considered in the article. The interconnections between memetics and social semiotics are analyzed. The conclusion is substantiated that memetics is becoming the branch of social semiotics which relates to different branches of semiotic research (biosemiotics, cybersemiotics, political semiotics, semiotics of culture, economic semiotics, etc.).
This article contributes to the developing recognition that the challenges raised by the enterprise of translating between languages extend beyond human language. It suggests that there are parallels between the political issues recognised by translation scholars – of exclusion, misrepresentation and speaking for 'the other' – and those raised by biosemiotics, the study of signs in all living systems. Following a discussion of convergence in current developments in translation studies, semiotics and human-animal studies, the article presents an analysis of empirical data, with specific reference to the different meanings of the verb HEAR. The findings demonstrate the anthropocentric assumptions that are embedded in the way hearing is routinely represented, and an argument is presented for the recognition of these in communications about the semiotic resources relevant to non-human life forms. The paper concludes with some reflections on the implications of these issues for the enterprise of translation.
In the light of the serious challenges facing human civilization, it is imperative that measures should be taken to eradicate global bio-illiteracy and spread biological education for nonbiologists worldwide. This was one of the main goals of Prof M.V. Gusev's efforts in the capacity of a member of the Commission for Biological Education. Conceptual underpinnings for his practical activities were provided by the biocentric doctrine that in Gusev's view implied understanding and appreciating the absolute value of life in all its forms, advocating an ethical attitude towards biodiversity, and considering humankind as part and parcel to planetary bios (life). Biocentrism also provides the philosophical foundations for a more specific research direction, biopolitics, that is construed herein as encompassing all social and political implications of modern life sciences from genetics to neurophysiology to ecology to primatology. Currently, biopolitics represents an interdisciplinary area of research that actively develops on the global scale and includes philosophical (quasi-ideological), political science-related (theoretical), and practical dimensions. Biopolitics forms part of a wider area referred to as humanities-centered biology that incorporates all possible contributions of life sciences to social sciences and humanities. Apart from biopolitics, humanities-centered biology also includes bioethics, biophilosophy, biosemiotics, etc. ; Not available
En esta labor nos proponemos reflexionar sobre el carácter político de las heroínas noveladas por la escritora chilena Mercedes Valdivieso (1924-1993). Para ello, recuperamos la totalidad de su producción novelesca (1961-1991) para indagar allí las articulaciones entre la modelización del cuerpo de las protagonistas y los distintos contextos en las cuales se editan. Nuestra perspectiva teórico-metodológica dialoga con la semiótica de la cultura de Iuri Lotman (1996) y con los estudios interdisciplinarios de corte biosemiótico de Katya Mandoki (2006). Nuestra hipótesis sostiene que la metáfora funciona en esas obras como parte de un triple sistema modelizante que involucra la materialidad de un cuerpo-sensible (una totalidad limitada parcialmente por su cualidad de "membrana porosa"), el de las lenguas o idiomas usadas en contextos específicos y el de los textos complejos (como el caso de la novela). Además, en diálogo con la biorretórica (Fleckenstein, 2001) y la retórica de la cultura (Barei, 2012), nuestro trabajo propone concebir al cuerpo como metáfora compleja que se despliega en constelaciones e involucra modelizaciones vinculadas al sexo, la clase y la "raza". Nuestro objetivo persigue entonces evidenciar la red de posicionamientos de la totalidad de novelas de esta autora y dar cuenta además de los aportes para el campo retórico de estudios de carácter interdisciplinarios en formación. ; Chilean writer Mercedes Valdivieso (1924-1993) has written a series of novels depicting women who become heroes for political reasons. This article aims to show how this is achieved in the novels written between 1961 and 1991 in terms of how the bodies of these heroic women are represented in different contexts. Our analysis is framed in Iuri Lotman's Semiotics of Culture (1996), and Katya Mandoki's studies on Biosemiotics (2006). We claim that metaphors are part of a three-sided modelling system involving the material quality of a sensitive body. This system shows as a total area partially limited by a porous membrane made up of languages being used in different contexts and complex texts, i.e. novels. Within the framework of Biorrhetorics (Fleckenstein, 2001) and Rhetorics of Culture (Barei, 2012), bodies are complex metaphors gathering as constellations and modelling sex, class, and "race". We seek to show how Valdivieso's novels are positioned in a net made up of a number of other novels which can be studied from a rhetoric and interdisciplinary point of view. ; Fil: Leunda, Ana Inés. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Filosofia y Humanidades. Cent.de Invest. Maria Saleme de Burnichon; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Formata dal movimento dei ghiacciai quaternari, la Valle di Susa è una valle alpina nel Nord Ovest italiano. Luminoso esempio di "materia narrante", è anche terreno di scontro tra iniziative conservazionistiche e progetti infrastrutturali transnazionali. Il progetto dell'alta velocità-capacità ferroviaria, o TAV, è stato oggetto di dure critiche. Dagli anni Novanta, grandi mobilitazioni riunite sotto il vessillo No TAV dalla valle si sono estese all'intero territorio nazionale. Parallelamente, il TAV gode l'appoggio bipartisan delle forze politiche. Diversi progetti preliminari sono stati stracciati nel tentativo di sedare un conflitto quasi trentennale con le comunità locali, un conflitto che buona parte della popolazione descrive come "resistenza", riallacciandosi all'epopea partigiana contro la piaga nazista. Il 28 luglio 2017, il Movimento No TAV ha annunciato il rinvenimento della sgargiante Zerynthia polyxena presso il torrente Clarea. Questa farfalla è inserita nella Direttiva Habitat, adottata dall'Unione europea nel 1992 per promuovere la tutela della biodiversità. Tuttavia, l'area è stata scelta come nuovo sito di cantiere da TELT, Promotore Pubblico responsabile della realizzazione e gestione della sezione transfrontaliera della futura linea Torino-Lyon. La notizia offre una lettura inedita del rapporto fra umano, tecnologia e ambiente in un contesto di altissima tensione economica e sociale quale è la Val di Susa. Nell'Ecuba, Euripide racconta che Polissena, principessa troiana, preferì farsi uccidere piuttosto che diventare schiava. La vicenda di Polissena è il cavallo di legno che introduce nel dibattito sul progetto del TAV l'assunto per cui "la liberazione della natura così ardentemente desiderata dagli ambientalisti non potrà mai essere pienamente ottenuta senza la liberazione della donna" (Gaard). Una nuova possibilità per il Movimento No TAV di far sentire la propria voce sarà illuminando la verità che il corpo della Terra e i corpi delle donne sono un unico corpo soggiogato e subordinato all'uomo, vittime dello stesso pregiudizio, quello di essere predisposti a uno scopo: compiacere, nutrire, servire. Ho ripercorso una china che va da La Dea Bianca di Robert Graves alla stregoneria al fascismo, guidato da alcune eroine letterarie. Coniugando idealmente l'ecofemminismo alla teoria designata da Edward Lorenz, battendo le ali Polissena può davvero scatenare un uragano. Abstract Formed by the movement of large ice sheets during the Quaternary glaciations, the Susa Valley is an alpine site in northwestern Italy. It is a luminous example of "storied matter," but it is also a battlefield between visions of wild nature and the plans of "crossnational" infrastructures. The planned TAV (Treno Alta Velocità, or high-speed train) line has been the source of heavy criticism: since the 1990s, an intense mobilization has spread from the valley all across Italy under the banner of the "No TAV" movement. The TAV project has since enjoyed unwavering political support from the members of parliament, right-wing and left-wing alike. Several preliminary drafts have been overturned in the attempt to quell a three-decades–long clash with the communities, a clash that most of the local people depict as "resistance," latching on to the partisans' epic stories of endurance against the Nazi scourge that took place in the valley. On July 28, 2017, the No TAV movement announced the discovery of the rare and striking butterfly Zerynthia polyxena, among the rare, threatened, or endemic species in the European Union listed in the Habitat Directive adopted in 1992. Yet, the area has been chosen as the new construction site by the company entrusted with the management of the cross-border section of the high-speed railway line between Turin and Lyon (a.k.a. TELT). This piece of news provides an original point of view to address the relationship between human and non-human agencies in a context of economic and social tension such as the Susa Valley. In this paper, I compare contemporary circumstances in the valley to the ancient Greek myth of Polyxena. In the tragedy Hecuba, the dramatist Euripides describes Polyxena as the Trojan princess who prefers to kill herself rather than become a slave. Hence, the butterfly that carries her name might become a Trojan horse enshrining the idea that "the liberation of nature so ardently desired by environmentalists will not be fully effected without the liberation of women" (G. Gaard). Combining various critical strains within the Environmental Humanities–from ecofeminism and biosemiotics to environmental history and new materialism–I suggest that richer, more encompassing narratives will be generated only when the similar fate of subjugation experienced by non-human bodies and the bodies of women will be more widely recognized. I carve a meandering spatio-temporal narrative path that goes from Robert Graves' The White Goddess to witch trials and fascism, attempting to follow an erratic fluttering pattern amongst the voices of literature. It is the very slanted figure eight pattern that Polyxena makes with its wings, and by which, according to the theory designated by Edward Lorenz, a hurricane could grow, bringing alternative world visions.Resumen Formado por el movimiento de grandes capas de hielo durante las glaciaciones cuaternarias, el valle de Susa es un enclave alpino en el noroeste de Italia. Es un ejemplo luminoso de "materia narrada", pero también es un campo de batalla entre las visiones de la naturaleza salvaje y los planes de las infraestructuras "transnacionales". La línea TAV ("Treno Alta Velocità" o tren de alta velocidad) ha sido objeto de fuertes críticas: desde la década de 1990 se ha extendido en toda Italia una intensa movilización bajo el lema del movimiento "No TAV". Desde entonces, el proyecto TAV ha gozado de un apoyo político inquebrantable por parte de los miembros del parlamento, tanto de derecha como de izquierda. Varios proyectos preliminares han sido revocados en un intento de sofocar un enfrentamiento de tres décadas con las comunidades, un choque que la mayoría de la población local concibe como "resistencia", con referencia a las épicas historias de resistencia de los partisanos contra el flagelo nazi que tuvo lugar en el valle. El 28 de julio de 2017, el movimiento No TAV anunció el descubrimiento de la sorprendente mariposa Zerynthia polyxena, entre las especies raras, amenazadas o endémicas de la Unión Europea, enumeradas en la Directiva Hábitat adoptada en 1992. Sin embargo, el lugar ha sido elegido como el nuevo sitio de construcción por la empresa encargada de la gestión del tramo transfronterizo de la línea ferroviaria de alta velocidad entre Turín y Lyon (también conocido como TELT). Esta noticia proporciona un punto de vista original para abordar la relación entre los seres humanos y el medio ambiente en un contexto de tensión económica y social como el Valle de Susa. En este artículo, comparo las circunstancias contemporáneas en el valle con el antiguo mito griego de Políxena. En la tragedia Hécuba, el dramaturgo Eurípides describe a Políxena como la princesa troyana que prefiere suicidarse antes que ser una esclava. Por lo tanto, la mariposa que lleva su nombre podría convertirse en un caballo de Troya que consagre la idea de que "la liberación de la naturaleza tan ardientemente deseada por los ecologistas no se realizará completamente sin la liberación de las mujeres" (G. Gaard). Combinando varias tendencias críticas dentro de las ciencias humanas ambientales—desde el ecofeminismo y la biosemiótica hasta la historia ambiental y los nuevos materialismos—sugiero que se generarán narrativas más ricas e incluyentes sólo cuando el destino similar de subyugación experimentado por cuerpos no humanos y cuerpos de mujeres sea más ampliamente reconocido. Trazo una ruta narrativa espacio-temporal serpenteante que va desde La Diosa Blanca de Robert Graves hasta los juicios de brujas y el fascismo, tratando de seguir un patrón de aleteo errático entre las voces de la literatura. Es el patrón inclinado de la figura de ocho que hace Políxena con sus alas, y por obra del cual, de acuerdo con la teoría designada por Edward Lorenz, un huracán podría crecer, trayendo visiones alternativas del mundo.
