Together with colleagues I have developed a framework for interdisciplinary research on 'wicked' problems, which is rooted in Peircean thought. Interdisciplinary work requires a shared research object, and the seemingly simple question of whether different disciplines are observing "the same thing" is in fact a deep philosophical question that requires a comprehensive semiotic understanding that is able to address how observations relate to that which is observed. Peirce's distinction between immediate and dynamical objects therefore plays an essential role in the framework.
The polyocular framework for interdisciplinary research has been referenced in a range of different contexts such as resilient food systems, sustainable agriculture, resilient energy systems, climate change mitigation, sustainability transformation, and organizational change management, as well as in relation to artificial intelligence, robotics, technology innovation, design, and teaching.
The framework is described in some detail in this paper, with five open peer commentaries:
Alrøe, Hugo F. and Egon Noe. 2014. ‘Second-Order Science of Interdisciplinary Research: A Polyocular Framework for Wicked Problems’. Constructivist Foundations 10 (1): 65–95.
Available at:
https://constructivist.info/10/1/065.alroe
http://hugo.alroe.dk/files/Work/2014-Alroe_Noe-Second_order_science-OFFPRINT.pdf
Peircean thinking has played a key role in most of my work on sustainable food production and related inquiries into philosophy of science and ethics. At present I am digging deeper into the doctrine of signs, rethinking the standard Peircean model of sign action to provide a general model that can serve as a workable framework for analysing the very different kinds of semiosis that we find in human discourse, scientific inquiry, ecological interactions, and the workings of robots, automatized technology, and single cell organisms. The first paper is still in process for publication, but I can provide a revised manuscript if anyone is interested.
Best, Hugo
--
Hugo F. Alrøe
PhD, Independent scholar, Denmark
Website: http://hugo.alroe.dk
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Thanks to everyone who has offered suggestions and examples—this is very helpful. I’m still interested in hearing of any other applications of Peirce you might know!
--
Kelly A. Parker, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy & Environmental and Sustainability Studies
Pronouns: he/him/his
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Zoe Crossland
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2025 4:14 PM
To: [email protected]; Stephen Jarosek <[email protected]>
Cc: Edwina Taborsky <[email protected]>; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [PEIRCE-L] Applications and direct influences of Peirce's thought?
Kelly,
You might be interested in this piece by Joanne Baron that reviews the use of Peirce in archaeology:
Baron, J.P., 2021. Peirce and archaeology: Recent approaches. Annual Review of Anthropology, 50(1), pp.187-202.
I've attached it below.
Best wishes,
Zoë Crossland
On Sat, May 10, 2025 at 9:23 AM "Stephen Jarosek" <[email protected]> wrote:
Hello list. I’m working on a paper that extends semiotics to quantum mechanics and the subatomic domain, especially in the context of association. Here’s a link to my brief commentary on AI’s assessment of my paper, where I also reflect on the
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Hello list.
I’m working on a paper that extends semiotics to quantum mechanics and the subatomic domain, especially in the context of association. Here’s a link to my brief commentary on AI’s assessment of my paper, where I also reflect on the implications of AI’s role in research:
https://www.academia.edu/129198681/A_Role_for_AI_in_the_New_Synthesis
Within it, there is also a link to my preprint paper that was reviewed by Grok (Grok is X’s resident AI).
Cheers,
sj
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Edwina Taborsky
Sent: 8 May, 2025 6:15 PM
To: [email protected]; [email protected]
Cc: Edwina Taborsky <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [PEIRCE-L] Applications and direct influences of Peirce's thought?
Kelly, list
I think there is a great deal work using Peirce in different disciplines.
My own work looks at societies as complex adaptive systems [CAS] , and biological and physicochemical systems also as CAS and is based on the concepts of energy transformation within a Peircean triadic semiotic process. Eg..”Semiosis is the transformation of energy into organized forms of matter’ and ‘ “in order to exist, energy must be organized into a ‘packet' of finite energy; it must be a sign. Signs are spatiotemporally closed codifications of energy; any and all existential realities are signs- a molecule, a proton, a bird, a human being, a word, a thought, a gesture, a society”…..P 1 .Architectonics of Semiosis 1998]. And all of this is based on Peirce...
But there are numerous other people using Peirce in multiple disciplines - in biosemiotics, [Hoffmeyer Emmeche,Kalevi, etc] in AI and ‘intelligent system design [ Emmeche, Queiroz]….
And, once one understands the Peircean framework - it is obvious that much work is done, within a similar framework - but just using different terminology!!
Edwina Taborsky
On May 8, 2025, at 11:20 AM, <[email protected]> <[email protected]> wrote:
Kelly, list,
This may not be the kind of thing you are looking for, but my open-access book Turning Signs (currently only published at that link) cross-correlates Peircean semeiotics with a broad range of fields within science and philosophy. For an example (which may be unique), it extrapolates from Peirce's concept of “logical energy” to what i call “semiotic energy,” and relates this to the analysis of biophysical energy flows which is central to the science of ecology. It draws upon Howard Odum's (2007) concepts of emergy and transformity to illuminate ecological dimensions of Peircean information. The book (netbook, as i call it) is published online under a Creative Commons license and can be searched for key terms such as those mentioned above.
On the more academic side, Adrian Ivakhiv has also applied Peircean ideas to his studies of cultural ecologies and the roles of media in them, including Shadowing the Anthropocene: Eco-Realism for Turbulent Times (2018).
Love, gary f.
Coming from the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg
} A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention. [Herbert Simon] {
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Kelly Parker
Sent: 6-May-25 16:45
To: [email protected]
Subject: [PEIRCE-L] Applications and direct influences of Peirce's thought?
Hello list—
I’m currently working on an overview of Peirce’s work, and want to include an account of important later developments and applications of his thought. The kind of thing I have in mind are direct applications of Peirce’s ideas, such as John Sowa’s conceptual graphs.
I’m interested learning about direct applications of Peirce in any field. I’ll also appreciate references to any published documentation of the connection(s) to Peirce. Thanks much!
--
Kelly A. Parker, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy & Environmental and Sustainability Studies
Pronouns: he/him/his
Grand Valley State University
B3-200 Mackinac Hall
Allendale, MI 49401
office: 616-331-3257
[email protected]
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