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Jesper Hoffmeyer: Biosemiotics Is a Discovery

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Abstract

Here we publish an interview with Jesper Hoffmeyer, conducted in 2012–2014.

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Notes

  1. It turns out that it was as early as 1986 that JH used the term “semiotics of nature” in print in Danish – see Emmeche et al. 2002: 40. See also Hoffmeyer 1990a; Hoffmeyer and Emmeche 1991.

  2. JH was one of the founders of the journal Naturkampen, and served as its co-editor from 1976 to 1986 (see Emmeche et al. 2002: 37).

  3. Stjernfelt 1992.

  4. However, already in his introductory article to the first issue of the journal OMverden (Umwelt, in Danish), which he edited together with Uffe Østergaard, JH referred to Jakob von Uexküll’s work (Hoffmeyer 1990a: 3). Uexküll is also mentioned in his article on biosemiotics which was published in the same year in the first issue of Danish semiotics journal Almen Semiotik (Hoffmeyer 1990b).

  5. Hoffmeyer 2001; published in a special issue of Semiotica (vol. 134) about Jakob von Uexküll (edited by Kalevi Kull).

  6. Hoffmeyer 2004; published in a special issue of Sign Systems Studies (vol. 32) about Jakob von Uexküll (edited by Kalevi Kull and Torsten Rüting). This journal issue included papers presented at the international conference “Signs and the Design of Life – Uexküll’s significance today”, held for the inauguration of the Jakob von Uexküll Archive for Umweltforschung and Biosemiotics at the University of Hamburg, in January 2004, and papers presented at the meeting “Cassirer, Lotman, Uexküll: Between biology and semiotics of culture”, held in Tartu in May 2004.

  7. This part of the interview has appeared in Estonian as Kull 2014.

  8. Hoffmeyer 1996; the Danish version is Hoffmeyer 1993.

  9. Hoffmeyer 2008a: 1–68; 2014: 23–113.

  10. Hoffmeyer 2008a: 71–109; 2014: 117–171.

  11. Sebeok 1989.

  12. Jonas 2001 [1966]; Deely 2001; Nagel 2012; Cassirer 1950.

  13. Deely 2009.

  14. Jesper Hoffmeyer has edited a volume about Gregory Bateson for the Biosemiotics book series (Hoffmeyer 2008b).

  15. Midgley 2002 [1979]; Clark 1997.

  16. Deacon 2011; Margulis and Sagan 2002.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

    Kalevi Kull

  2. University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Ekaterina Velmezova

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  1. Kalevi Kull
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  2. Ekaterina Velmezova
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Correspondence to Kalevi Kull.

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Kull, K., Velmezova, E. Jesper Hoffmeyer: Biosemiotics Is a Discovery. Biosemiotics 12, 373–379 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12304-019-09367-7

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