Cybersemiotics
a new foundation for a transdisciplinary theory of consciousness, cognition, meaning and communication
pp. 97-126
in: Liz Swan (ed), Origins of mind, Berlin, Springer, 2013Abstract
The modern evolutionary paradigm combined with phenomenology forces us to view human consciousness as a product of evolution as well as accept humans as observers from the "inside of the universe". The knowledge produced by science has first-person embodied consciousness combined with second-person meaningful communication in language as a prerequisite for third-person fallibilist scientific knowledge. Therefore, the study of consciousness forces us theoretically to encompass the natural and social sciences as well as the humanities in one framework of unrestricted or absolute naturalism, viewing the conscious lifeworld with its intentionality as well as the intersubjectivity of culture as a part of nature. But the sciences are without concepts of qualia; will and meaning and the European phenomenological-hermeneutic "sciences of meaning" do not have an evolutionary foundation. It is therefore interesting that C.S. semiotics—in its modern form of a biosemiotics—was based on an evolutionary thinking and ecology of sign webs. But Cybersemiotics shows that it is also necessary to draw on our knowledge, from science and the technologically founded information sciences, systems theory and cybernetics to obtain a true transdisciplinary theory.