Serial Endosymbiotic Theory (Set): The Biosemiotic Update
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BSTRACT The Serial Endosymbiotic Theory explains the origin of nucleated eukaryotic cells by a merging of archaebacterial and eubacterial cells. The paradigmatic change is that the driving force behind evolution is not ramification but merging. Lynn Margulis describes the symbiogenetic processes in the language of mechanistic biology in such terms as “merging”, “fusion”, and “incorporation”. Biosemiotics argues that all cell-cell interactions are (rule-governed) sign-mediated interactions, i.e., communication processes. As the description of plant communication demonstrates, the biosemiotic approach is not limited to the level of molecular biology, but is also helpful in examining all sign-mediated interactions between organisms on the phenotypic level. If biosemiotics also uses the notions of “language” and “communication” to describe non-human sign-mediated interactions, then the underlying scientific justification of such usage should be critically considered. Therefore, I summarize the history of this discussion held between 1920 and 1980 and present its result, the pragmatic turn.
Key Words: symbiogenesis, biosemiotics, genome editing competence, pragmatic turn, abstractive fallacy
1. INTRODUCTION The Serial Endosymbiotic Theory explains the origin of nucleated eukaryotic cells by a merging of archaebacterial and eubacterial cells in anaerobic symbiosis, historically followed by acquisition of mitochondria or plastids. Thus, in contrast to former evolutionary theories which consider ramification as a driving force of evolution, there is a paradigmatic change bringing merging into the forefront of the discussion. Lynn Margulis describes the symbiogenetic processes in the language of mechanistic biology in such terms as “merging”, “fusion”, “incorporation”, and “amalgamation”. Biosemiotics argues that all cell-cell interactions are rule-governed sign-mediated interactions, i.e., communication processes. The possibility to investigate plant communication demonstrates that the biosemiotic approach is not limited to the level of molecular biology, but is also helpful in examining all rule-governed sign-mediated interactions between organisms on the phenotypic level. If biosemiotics also uses the notions of “language” and “communication” to describe non-human sign-mediated interactions, then the underlying scientific justification of such usage should be critically considered. Therefore, I summarize the history of this discussion held between 1920 and 1980 and present its result, the pragmatic turn. Pragmatic philosophy of biology, the pragmatic turn within it, has laid the foundation of a three-leveled Acta Biotheoretica (2006) 54: 103–117 DOI: 10.1007/s10441-006-7831-x
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Springer 2006
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biosemiotics and has justified it. It helps to avoid an abstractive fallacy – recurring weakness of today’s scientific methodologies. To extend the Serial Endosymbiotic Theory through a biosemiotic perspective I will follow eight steps as outlined in the following: The first step is that I briefly present the a
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