| Biosemiotics
Introduction
Biosemiotics is the study of sign processes and communication in natural ecosystems. It is based on the grounds that any organism perceives and acts in its own specific subjective environment (Umwelt).
Natural ecosystems are interlocked by numerous sign processes between species and within species. Organisms are situated in their environments through the ability to sense relevant aspects of their environments. The organism forms a functional circle ("Funktionskreis") with its environment, in that its sensorimotor apparatus is 'tuned' to the environmental signs that are relevant for survival and reproduction.
Since the environment as perceptable by an organism is always subjective (from its own perspective, through its limited sensors), all organisms live in their own subjective environment (which differs between species, and between -genetically different- conspecifics).
For example, a tick hangs to a tree until its receptors pick up butyric acids that are unintentionally emitted by a passing man (through its sweat). These signs trigger a series of reflexes in the tick which result in the tick being able to pierce the poor man's skin and draw blood.
The rich environment surrounding the tick (that includes infinitely many possible signs) is dramatically reduced to only a few signs (butyric acid) to which the tick responds. This illustrates to both biologists and roboticists that this reduced richness is not a drawback but an advantage, since "Sicherheit ist wichtiger als Reichtum" (von Uexküll, 1934).
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