In reply to Howard- see my comments:
At 04:47 PM 9/3/2014, Frederik wrote:
Adding semiotic concepts to your description of physical events can be
done, but it does not really add to our understanding of them - while in our
understanding of biological events, semiotic concepts are always-already there.
HP: I agree, but more so. Adding semiotic concepts to physical events cannot
be done without violating several well-established scientific principles.
EDWINA: I disagree with your certainty - which is a belief and not a fact.
HP:(1) Parsimony. As you wrote, semiotics adds nothing to our understanding
of physical laws. It is a gratuitous mythical addition.
EDWINA: Again, this is your opinion and not a fact. Parsimony is not relevant
here.
HP: (2) Non-Falsifiability. That is, unless we figure out what the"mind of a
photon" could mean.
EDWINA: There is no such thing as the 'mind of a photon' and semiosis does
not require individual minds - which is a psychological concept and not a
semiotic concept.
HP: (3) Violates Indistinguishability. Atomic structure, and all matter,
depend on the Pauli Exclusion Principle. The principled identity of fundamental
particles is an essential symmetry. Any attribute of mind, even if imaginary,
would violate this principle.
EDWINA: Are you saying that asymmetry is a requirement of semiosis? I'm not
aware of this principle.
HP: (4) It begs or evades the question: What is mind?
EDWINA: You are inserting psychological requirements into semiosis. False.
The use of semiosis in analysis of the physico-chemical realm as well as the
biological realm, including the simplest cells, does not require a separate
agency within that cell, of 'mind'.
FS: But I think deciding pro or con pansemiotics is no prerequisite for
following the book's argument.
HP: I agree. So, I apologize for continuing the issue.
Howard
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