Stephen, list,
An interesting question. And an even more interesting approach: But this time, applying reverse logic, I asked myself what are the illnesses that manifest because of a patients failure to imitate properly? I followed a similar strategy and found it most profitable for getting at the finer details of the semiotic framework to ask how a-typical behavior and mistakes can be understood semiotically. The text https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-642-55355-4_3.pdf contains theoretical considerations based on research I did amongst children that fall out of the schoolsystem in the Netherlands. Since I started with stories from parents, in the majority of cases the blame was put on schools not being able to deal with complexities of the child, not on children showing some sort of criminal behavior. Two labels were used most for the children that surfaced in the research: autism and highly gifted. With an autism - highly gifted ratio higher then 5 - 1. But one has to take into account that the IQ tests of the majority of autism pupils were above average, most of the time with a score on some sub-tests considerably higher, then on some other. And that some parents that called their children highly gifted based themselves on the average result of the wisc test solely. Disregarding enormous discrepancies on sub-tests (on a scale length of 19 two lowest score of 5 and two highest of 18, the remainder, if I remember correctly above 12) and without recognition of the tri-partite demand for highly gifted performance: inborn qualities, character of the child and environment. With autism the situation is even more complex regarding the feats that show themselves in different cases. Compare the child that does hardly communicate with the Asperger diagnosed student that follows multiple studies at the same time with good learning results or for that matter with the 18 years old who socially communicates on a level comparable in some respects to a 5 years old, but that at the same time mastered reading by himself before being 4 years old. The above is meant to underscore that I dont profess to provide an answer, but only raise an alternative explanation. So, if it is a failure in the ability to mimic (icon based), it is a failure in some not all domains. This points in the direction of a background problem with the direction of attention (index based). I regard it feasible that autism semiotically can be understood by recognizing that a strong reliance on legisigns (types) and their habitually associated symbols prevent exploration of the rhematic (combinatoric) possibilities of new input signs. The adaptability to circumstances is seriously hindered in this way. And indeed, as you state, it appears as an inability to mimic social wished behavior. Until, that is, one succeeds in getting attention for the social problems, in that case a social scientist may be the result. Best, Auke van Breemen Van: Stephen Jarosek <sjaro...@iinet.net.au> Verzonden: woensdag 20 februari 2019 7:58 Aan: biosemiot...@lists.ut.ee; peirce-l@list.iupui.edu Onderwerp: [PEIRCE-L] Imitation as pragmatism and solution to entropy problem Dear Members, [This post carries on from our December thread Systems theory, DNA entanglement, agents and semiosis] I've been trying to put an article together, on imitation, for Gatherings in Biosemiotics 2019 in Moscow. But I dont think I can put together anything of substance, in a format that would interest the gathering. Nonetheless, I remain of the opinion that imitation as a fundamental principle would definitely have interested Peirce, especially from the perspective of pragmatism. Perhaps something to explore at the Gathering? Google brings up a great many references to imitation, but nothing on imitation as a fundamental principle. But this time, applying reverse logic, I asked myself what are the illnesses that manifest because of a patients failure to imitate properly? Ive struck pay-dirt, particularly with reference to autism. Is autism a disease directly attributable to imitation deficit? Here are some links: An examination of the imitation deficit in autism: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-02466-009 The Social Role of Imitation in Autism: https://depts.washington.edu/isei/iyc/21.2_Ingersoll.pdf Does Impaired Social Motivation Drive Imitation Deficits in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder? https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40489-015-0054-9 A great many references exist on imitation generally, but nothing on imitation as a principle... for example: https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2017/personality-traits-contagious-among-child ren/ Here is a nice overview of imitation from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imitation SUMMARY OF SOME CORE ISSUES RELATING TO IMITATION Autism is not a faulty-wiring/dysfunctional genes problem. AUTISM IS AN IMITATION-PRAGMATISM PROBLEM. It is not a disease, sickness or pathology in the usual sense of the term, because it is a normal (if dysfunctional) product of motivation, association and habituation (Peircean categories). All these complex theories about psychology, schizophrenia and inheritance of behavioral traits. What if we were wrong? What if it all amounts to nothing other than imitation? Behavior inherited across generations not through genes, but through imitation. Kalevi Kull has published some articles recently on the relationship between semiosis and choice (e.g., Choosing and learning: Semiosis means choice). Imitation is one of the ways that organisms make choices. People choose from culture and culture is imitation. Many references can be found on imitation, from Plato and Aristotle to Piaget and Freud. But never as a fundamental principle. What are we missing? Imitation (assimitation defined below) should be explored as a fundamental principle with respect to pragmatism and knowing how to be. Imitation is integral to solving the entropy problem. Hebbs rule suggests that neurons imitate neurons that fire together wire together. Heck, even atoms and molecules imitate we call it entanglement. If Peirce were alive today, hed eat this stuff up. Imitation (assimitation) is an important topic not just from the perspective of psychological health, but also from the perspective of politics, personal well-being and the company we keep. Is it sensible for the European Union to maintain an open borders policy, with an immigration policy that ignores the implications of imitation and cultural identity? Peirces categories are hugely important, but imitation is the overlay that makes cultural complexity possible. Without imitation as a primal driver, human culture as we know it, would be non-existent. Imitation is not an incidental add-on. It is a primal foundation and first-cause. It is the most important solution to the entropy problem, because without imitation, there would be no colonies or culture. Peirces categories are the filter through which organisms decide what to imitate. Humans with female mind-bodies will imitate women, not men. Humans with male mind-bodies will imitate men, not women. Wolves in the wild will imitate wolves. Dogs in cities will imitate humans (as far as their canine mind-bodies predispose them to). Feral infants raised by wolves will imitate wolves (as far as their human mind-bodies predispose them to). And so on and on and on. Imitation is so very important that even Neo-Darwinians have tried to incorporate it into their framework. I refer to Richard Dawkins and his memetic theory. Could imitation be so important, that this is the reason why we dont recognize it? Something so pervasive, so everywhere. Heck, we cant keep imitation out of every single word that carries our accent. Asking a human to tell us about imitation is like asking a fish to tell us about water. We have no reference to what it would be like to live without imitation. We just assume things, without realizing that the assuming is, at its core, a product of imitation. Regards, Stephen Jarosek From: Stephen Jarosek [mailto:sjaro...@iinet.net.au] Sent: Sunday, December 2, 2018 12:14 PM To: 'Helmut Raulien'; 'biosemiot...@lists.ut.ee' Cc: 'tabor...@primus.ca'; 'peirce-l@list.iupui.edu' Subject: RE: [biosemiotics:9293] [PEIRCE-L] Re: Systems theory, DNA entanglement, agents and semiosis I agree with you, Helmut, that the concept of culture is extremely important. More important than the vast, overwhelming majority of people can hope to understand. I was blessed with having to grow up in a dysfunctional war-refugee family, and having to make sense of a hyper-materialistic-hedonistic fun culture that believes its own bullshit (actually, all cultures believe their own bullshit, by definition, but the most hedonistic-materialistic are the worst but I digress). Suspended within a no-mans land without sensible truths to anchor to, I had to formulate my own interpretations from scratch. Eastern religions such as Buddhism often refer to the importance of letting go of assumptions and definitions, as part of spiritual practice. Far from the leisure of spiritual practice, this was a condition that was foisted on me as a matter of survival, it was not a condition that I chose. What people dont realize is the importance of imitation. They dont get it, that all that they ever have are assumptions. Imitation is actually the wrong word a more precise phrase is knowing how to be. Its about the replication of behavior taking your cultures assumptions for granted. Maybe we need a new word that synthesizes assuming with imitating. Assimitating maybe? Yes for want of a better word, lets stick with that assimitating. And lets define it in the context of knowing how to be. First of all, one has to choose a niche from their culture to belong to. Secondly, they have to assimitate and replicate the assumptions of their chosen niche, to strictly observe its limits. One can move across niches, and one must choose one to belong to, but limits must be observed. Niche boundaries do not necessarily appear strict to those observing them, however, because they assume that this is just the way that reality is. Observing niche boundaries is a fine balancing act between the courage of individualism and the cowardice of conformity. Courageous observance (testing the limits) is for leaders, timid observance is for followers. But no matter what, niche boundaries MUST be observed. For those that fail to observe said boundaries, or push the boundaries too far with their courage, and there are sizeable numbers of both, their lot is often disenfranchisement, invisibility, maybe even psychosis or schizophrenia. So what are the boundaries of the culture as a whole? As Ive mentioned before in other threads, culture is analogous to a thought. A society of people is to culture what a brain of neurons is to thought. Metaphors from chaos theory are informative. Role models as attractors. Boundary conditions. Initial conditions. A culture comprised of subcultures (niches) is still a unity. The farthest niches from one another, within a culture, are still fundamentally united in their sharing of the assumptions that matter (pragmatism). Assimitation within a culture is integral to pragmatism, because its how people establish the assumptions that matter. Assumptions are habits thirdness. Initial conditions is a concept that has especially caught my attention of late. It relates to scaffolding. Meaning is built upon meaning, and the initial conditions first experiences are important because of this. You cant just wake up one morning and decide to change your world-view with the affirmative this is the first day of the rest of my life. But it also goes much deeper than that. I am recognizing this as I walk around the city streets of my grandfathers homeland, with the realization hey, so thats where I got that quirky trait from! (yes, Im still discovering things about myself). It begins with mother's nurturing <https://news.northeastern.edu/2018/08/06/what-if-people-from-different-cult ures-and-economic-backgrounds-have-different-brain-wiring/> nay, it begins in the womb there are several examples of the latter referenced in my paper Pragmatism, Neural Plasticity and Mind-body Unity <https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12304-012-9145-5> . Which brings us to your reference to fundamentalist religions, mafias, etc. That is, groupthink. What is the distinction between groupthink and healthy culture? One clue lies in the moral individualism of Christianity, its relationship to courage, and Jesus as a role model (Im not a Christian, but I respect why Christianity was effective). Groupthink is a feature of fear and cowardice, and it sticks like glue, turning people into unquestioning NPC-bots yearning for social approval and the need to belong. Particularly relevant to todays culture of social media. Hedonism and fun cultures are obsessed with needs and, despite their apparent freedoms and indulgences, are contained within strictly self-enforced limits revolving around social approval. Buddhism seems to incorporate a lot of these understandings. Id just like to see one thing corrected though. Buddhists assume that all problems stem from desire. No, desire (firstness?) is downstream from assimitation (pragmatism). Assimitation, knowing how to be, is where all the problems begin, because thats where all choices begin. Regards, sj no woo From: Helmut Raulien [mailto:h.raul...@gmx.de] Sent: Saturday, December 1, 2018 8:07 PM To: biosemiot...@lists.ut.ee <mailto:biosemiot...@lists.ut.ee> Cc: biosemiot...@lists.ut.ee <mailto:biosemiot...@lists.ut.ee> ; tabor...@primus.ca <mailto:tabor...@primus.ca> ; peirce-l@list.iupui.edu <mailto:peirce-l@list.iupui.edu> Subject: Aw: [biosemiotics:9293] [PEIRCE-L] Re: Systems theory, DNA entanglement, agents and semiosis Supplement: I think there is so much more to discuss, esp. about the concept of culture: Is culture merely tradition and a homeostatic system of unquestioned habits, or may it also be a culture of culture criticism and innovation, like a culture of habit-revising and habit-breaking? Or would this not be "culture" anymore, but something else, an emancipation from culture? And so on. Anyway, "culture" is merely the produce of an observation, just secondness, but not something containing thirdness essentialities such as values or laws. Btw, evolution has not stopped with the evolution of nervous systems. Causa efficiens is like proto-symbolic (force, laws... . To say natural laws are conventional, would suggest a polytheistic idea of gods having had a meeting, haha. So proto). Needs are indexical, id say, and wishes iconical. Simple nervous animals iconize. In their evolution there comes indexicality (like pheromons smelling, pointing, yelling) and symbolicity (like language) again. So I see individuation (evolution of individuals out of the universe) like a wave: symbolic(1), indexical(1), iconical(1), indexical(2), symbolical(2), and so on. Indexical(3) and symbolical(3) would mean, that individuality is handed over to a supersystem (like the internet), that integrates us, strips our individuality from us, and organizes us (makes us organs and no-more-organisms). In our own human interest, we must avoid this. It would be natural, but not good for us. In our civilized convenience-swing we have forgotten, that "natural" does not automatically mean "good", but may and often does mean "hostile". Nature in ancient times was justifiedly regarded as mostly hostile (sabre-teeth-tigers, snakes, locusts, diseases, famines...). Now, as nature appears in the form of technology, we dont recognize it as nature, but it is, and it is pure nature untamed, though phenomenologically completely different from the common-conceptual (green) nature we know and have tamed. Stephen, Edwina, list, I agree, that the term "operationally closed" is too much suggesting an objectivity, because "operation" sounds like something objective: An operation is mostly the same operation, seen from any perspective. So, with my own terms, i rather say "causally closed", and therefore, additionally to effect causation and final causation, I propose a secular kind of example cause (causa exemplaris). Causa efficiens I see as force reason, as effect causes are forced by natural laws. Regarding causa efficiens, no system is causally closed. Causa finalis I see as need reason, applying to organisms. Organisms have needs, and the system border for them and this causally closedness is the skin or the cell membrane of an organism. Causa exemplaris (secular) I see as wish reason or volation reason, applying to organisms with a nervous system, and any wish is causally contained within the nervous system, so there is causal closedness too. With social systems, I think, it is so, that they have an intention of becoming organism-like, or even human-like. Luhmann speaks of intentional systems. This intention, I think, is the reason life has emerged and evolved, as it more or less applies to any CAS, the more complex it is, the more, and the more complex (like humans) the agents it relies on are, the more too. So the emergence of fundamentalist religions, rigid ideologies, mafias, and so on, is a natural thing, and the goal of systems theory imho would be to show this danger, and so to help prevent it. So, politically I see value in the dogma, that a social system should be kept as trivial (non-complex) and transparent as possible, for not being able to develop causal closedness (systems´ own needs and wishes). This dogma is in accord with democratic achievements like separation of powers, civil and human rights, freedom of speech, press, religion..., mobility (travel, work, and habitation freedom...). This dogma stands in opposition against right-wing people-think (volkskoerper), compulsory communism, and excessive (intransparent) dataism. Best, Helmut 29. November 2018 um 22:02 Uhr Von: "Stephen Jarosek" <sjaro...@iinet.net.au <mailto:sjaro...@iinet.net.au> > EDWINA >"Ideologies can be 'operationally closed' - that's the goal of fundamentalism in religion." Yes, as per my reply to Helmut, Luhmann's "operationally closed" perspective seems to be an extension of the objectivist paradigm. Fundamentalist religion, man-made-in-god's-image, Darwinism, human exceptionalism, etc, all make assumptions about objective truth where reality plays out independently of the observer, and I think that this is the same trap that Luhmann's interpretation falls into. Reminds me of Richard Dawkins' memetics theory. This is a perspective where human behavior is regarded merely as an impartial medium for the transmission of cultural communications... a very odd position I must say. They're failing to recognize a most important point... the relationship between human behavior and culture... the "knowing how to be", imitation and pragmatism. sj From: Edwina Taborsky [mailto:tabor...@primus.ca] Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2018 7:55 PM To: peirce-l@list.iupui.edu <mailto:peirce-l@list.iupui.edu> ; biosemiot...@lists.ut.ee <mailto:biosemiot...@lists.ut.ee> ; Stephen Jarosek Subject: [PEIRCE-L] Re: [biosemiotics:9287] Systems theory, DNA entanglement, agents and semiosis I think this is an important distinction. Do societies function by ideology or by interactional relations with their environment and others? Ideologies can be 'operationally closed' - that's the goal of fundamentalism in religion. This is where " the cultural narrative exists as a kind of overlay, independently of the humans engaging it" that Stephen refers to. Cultural anthropology believes in the determinism of the cultural narrative. However, I think that a society, as a CAS [complex adaptive system] operates as an interactional system - and that includes its operating narrative. Granted - it can take generations for a cultural narrative to change - but - it does. Edwina On Thu 29/11/18 4:19 AM , "Stephen Jarosek" sjaro...@iinet.net.au <mailto:sjaro...@iinet.net.au> sent: Dear members, In a recent debate on systems theory in another forum, I explored with others, the specific issues informing Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and autopoiesis. There seems to be two dominant, competing narratives playing out: 1) AUTOPOIESIS AS OPERATIONALLY CLOSED: The dynamics of autopoiesis are regarded as relational, not externally caused. According to Wikipedia, Niklas Luhman regarded social systems as "... operationally closed in that while they use and rely on resources from their environment, those resources do not become part of the systems' operation. Both thought and digestion are important preconditions for communication, but neither appears in communication as such. Note, however, that Maturana argued very vocally that this appropriation of autopoietic theory was conceptually unsound, as it presupposes the autonomy of communications from actual persons. That is, by describing social systems as operationally closed networks of communications, Luhmann (according to Maturana) ignores the fact that communications presuppose human communicators." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niklas_Luhmann Echoing Maturana's concern in my own words... in an operationally closed culture, the cultural narrative exists as a kind of overlay, independently of the humans engaging it. 2) AUTOPOIESIS AS SEMIOSIS BY AN AGENT: This is our position. We acknowledge the role of the agent, semiosis, and the choices that the agent makes from its Umwelt. Where the former regards an "operationally closed" system as an overlay independent of the agents making choices from it, our own perspective incorporates agents inextricably as part of the system. For us, therefore, pragmatism plays a central role. In the "operationally closed" system, by contrast, it would seem that pragmatism plays a minimal role, if any. Lest there remain any doubt, Peirce's "The man is the thought" clearly designates man as an agent. Preaching here to the converted, we require no further elaboration. DNA ENTANGLEMENT = AUTONOMOUS AGENTS What can we do to entice the "operationally closed" CAS crowd to move over to our side? If we can get others to appreciate the importance of including agents within their narrative, it may compel them to better appreciate the potential of the semiotic paradigm. The case for focusing on the agent might be made more compelling by incorporating DNA entanglement into our narrative. DNA entanglement addresses two critical problems... entropy and the binding problem. In this regard, with respect to the binding problem, we are further compelled to focus on the observer as the locus of control. A living observer comprised of cells bound together by entangled DNA is clearly an agent making choices from it Umwelt. It cannot be any other way. Why does DNA entanglement deserve to be taken seriously? My paper, Quantum Semiotics, provides an outline: http://journals.sfu.ca/jnonlocality/index.php/jnonlocality/article/view/64/6 3 By including DNA entanglement within our thesis, we are in a more compelling position to conclude that it is the agent (consciousness) that is first cause. It is the agent that makes the choices and assimilates its experiences into its being, its unity. WHY HAS DNA ENTANGLEMENT NOT ENTERED THE MAINSTREAM VERNACULAR? There exists much circumstantial evidence in support of DNA entanglement, and more and more researchers are increasingly reviewing correlations between separated neural networks. It is my contention that there is only one mechanism that might explain these correlations - DNA entanglement. So what's the holdup? There can only be one thing. Woo. Professionals terrified of having their valuable work assigned the woo label won't dare utter the words "DNA entanglement" in polite company. It is unfortunate that in this era of rampaging political correctness, with people being unpersoned for holding unapproved opinions, we are policing ourselves into silence. As I am independent of Academia, though, I have nothing to lose, and so I'm so I'm going to say it loud and proud: DNA entanglement. It's a thing. Regards, Stephen Jarosek no woo REFERENCES - CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE FOR DNA ENTANGLEMENT: Apostolou, T.; Kintzios, S. Cell-to-Cell Communication: Evidence of Near-Instantaneous Distant, Non-Chemical Communication between Neuronal (Human SK-N-SH Neuroblastoma) Cells by Using a Novel Bioelectric Biosensor (JCS Volume 25, Numbers 9-10, 2018, pp. 62-74(13)) https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/imp/jcs/2018/00000025/f0020009/art 00002 Crew, B. (2018). This is the first detailed footage of DNA replication, and it wasn't what we expected. Sciencealert.com: https://www.sciencealert.com/dna-replication-first-footage-unexpected Greentechnique. (2011, January 15). Cleve Backster - Primary Perception (beginning at 344 seconds): https://youtu.be/V7V6D33HGt8?t=5m44s Pizzi, R., Fantasia, A., Gelain, F., Rosetti, D., & Vescovi, A. (2004). Non-local correlations between separated neural networks (E. Donkor, A. Pirick, & H. Brandt, Eds.). Quantum Information and Computation (Proceedings of SPIE), 5436(II), 107-117. http://spie.org/Publications/Proceedings/Paper/10.1117/12.540785
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