COGNITION AS A SENSE-MAKING ACTIVITY: AT THE CROSSROAD OF BIOSEMIOTICS AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE
A fundamental problem of search of sense in the Universe is under consideration in the article. The application of such notions as sense, sign, signal to the biological (non-linguistic) processes what is a main problem of biosemiotics is discussed as well. The epistemological analysis of the concept of Umwelt coined by Jakob von Uexküll is made and its significance for the modern advances in epistemology, in cognitive science and in the theory of complex adaptive systems is demonstrated. A man in his cognitive, sense-making activity is considered in aspect of the universal evolutionary process together with the realm of living nature. It is shown that on the basis of achievements of biosemiotics, a possibility of search of new ways of integration of natural scientific and humanitarian knowledge is glimmered.
Keywords: biosemiotics, perception, cognition, cognitive semiotics, cognitive agent, interdisciplinary synthesis, signal, symbol, sense, complex adaptive systems, evolutionary thinking, Umwelt
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Issue: 2, 2014
Series of issue: Issue 2
Rubric: ARTICLES
Pages: 26 — 44
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