Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Agency and Appearance: Reading the Face of Life

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Organismal Agency

Part of the book series: Biosemiotics ((BSEM,volume 28))

  • 44 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter focuses on a single but essential building block of biological organisation, namely the way living organisms establish their specific relationship between existence and appearance. Although in the following we restrict our interest to the visual dimension, one could conceive of other modalities and their interactions along similar lines. All lineages which led to complex multicellularity have either one or both of the following advanced light-handling skills: (i) light reflection and absorption to create a display of self and/or (ii) the ability to focus the light reflected from other objects on a pigmented retina so as to create an image of the external world. Inanimate objects also reflect light, but only living entities can actively influence their reflection and therefore also their display. Living bodies themselves create the exposed surfaces. Such appearances are therefore in effect an externalisation of an organised self – and that is something that does not apply to the visual aspects of inanimate things. Further, I argue that the organismal capacity of self-representation is intimately related to certain essential characteristics which differentiate life from nonlife. The more developed the self-representational ability, the higher the complexity of organisation, and the further away the organised beings are from nonlife.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anderson, J. B., Bruhn, J. N., Kasimer, D., Wang, H., Rodrigue, N., & Smith, M. L. (2018). Clonal evolution and genome stability in a 2500-year-old fungal individual. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285(1893), 20182233.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Arrhenius, G. O. (2003). Crystals and life. Helvetica Chimica Acta, 86(5), 1569–1586.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baluška, F., & Mancuso, S. (2016). Vision in plants via plant-specific ocelli? Trends in Plant Science, 21(9), 727–730.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bicknell, R. D. C., & Paterson, J. R. (2018). Reappraising the early evidence of durophagy and drilling predation in the fossil record: Implications for escalation and the Cambrian explosion. Biological Reviews, 93(2), 754–784.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bobrovskiy, I., Hope, J. M., Ivantsov, A., Nettersheim, B. J., Hallmann, C., & Brocks, J. J. (2018). Ancient steroids establish the Ediacaran fossil Dickinsonia as one of the earliest animals. Science. (New York, N.Y.), 361(6408), 1246–1249.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bobrovskiy, I., Hope, J. M., Golubkova, E., & Brocks, J. J. (2020). Food sources for the Ediacara biota communities. Nature Communications, 11(1), 1261.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bonner, J. T. (2000). First signals: The evolution of multicellular development. First signals. Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonner, J. T. (2004). Perspective: The size-complexity rule. Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution, 58(9), 1883–1890.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brejcha, J., Pecháček, P., & Kleisner, K. (2019). Complementarity of seeing and appearing. In M. I. Aldinhas Ferreira, J. Silva Sequeira, & R. Ventura (Eds.), Cognitive architectures (pp. 13–30). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brejcha, J., Tureček, P., & Kleisner, K. (2021). Perception-driven dynamics of mimicry based on attractor field model. Interface Focus, 11(3).

    Google Scholar 

  • Brownlee, C., Wheeler, G. L., & Taylor, A. R. (2015). Coccolithophore biomineralization: New questions, new answers. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology, 46, 11–16.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cairns-Smith, A. G. (1977). Takeover mechanisms and early biochemical evolution. Biosystems, 9(2), 105–109.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cairns-Smith, A. G. (1982). Genetic takeover and the mineral origins of life. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, L., & Wiens, J. J. (2021). Multicellularity and sex helped shape the tree of life. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288(1955), 20211265.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Chong, I., & Proctor, R. W. (2020). On the evolution of a radical concept: Affordances according to Gibson and their subsequent use and development. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(1), 117–132.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cock, J. M., & Collén, J. (2015). Independent emergence of complex multicellularity in the Brown and red algae. In I. Ruiz-Trillo & A. M. Nedelcu (Eds.), Evolutionary transitions to multicellular life: Principles and mechanisms (pp. 335–361). Springer Netherlands.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Colley, N. J., & Nilsson, D.-E. (2016). Photoreception in phytoplankton. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 56(5), 764–775.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dai, Y.-C., & Cui, B.-K. (2011). Fomitiporia ellipsoidea has the largest fruiting body among the fungi. Fungal Biology, 115(9), 813–814.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Vargas, C., Aubry, M.-P., Probert, I., & Young, J. (2007). Origin and evolution of Coccolithophores: From coastal hunters to oceanic farmers. In P. G. Falkowski & A. H. Knoll (Eds.), Evolution of primary producers in the sea (pp. 251–285). Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Decelle, J., & Not, F. (2015). Acantharia. In eLS (pp. 1–10). Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drescher, B., Dillaman, R. M., & Taylor, A. R. (2012). Coccolithogenesis in Scyphosphaera apsteinii (Prymnesiophyceae). Journal of Phycology, 48(6), 1343–1361.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Droser, M. L., & Gehling, J. G. (2008). Synchronous aggregate growth in an abundant new Ediacaran tubular organism. Science, 319(5870), 1660–1662.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, S. D., Hughes, I. V., Gehling, J. G., & Droser, M. L. (2020). Discovery of the oldest bilaterian from the Ediacaran of South Australia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(14), 7845–7850.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gast, R. J. (2017). Centrohelida and other heliozoan-like Protists. In J. M. Archibald, A. G. B. Simpson, & C. H. Slamovits (Eds.), Handbook of the Protists (pp. 955–971). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gehling, J. G., & Droser, M. L. (2009). Textured organic surfaces associated with the Ediacara biota in South Australia. Earth-Science Reviews, 96(3), 196–206.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gianoli, E., & Carrasco-Urra, F. (2014). Leaf mimicry in a climbing plant protects against herbivory. Current Biology, 24(9), 984–987.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, J. J. (1977). The theory of affordances. In Perceiving, acting, and knowing: Toward an ecological psychology (pp. 67–82). Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, J. J. (1979). The ecological approach to visual perception. Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grosberg, R. K., & Strathmann, R. R. (2007). The evolution of multicellularity: A minor major transition? Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 38(1), 621–654.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herron, M. D., Rashidi, A., Shelton, D. E., & Driscoll, W. W. (2013). Cellular differentiation and individuality in the “minor” multicellular taxa. Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 88(4), 844–861.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmeyer, J. (2008). The semiotic niche. Journal of Mediterranean Ecology, 9, 5–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland, L. Z. (2016). Tunicates. Current biology: CB, 26(4), R146–R152.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kleisner, K. (2015). Semantic organs: The concept and its theoretical ramifications. Biosemiotics, 8(3), 367–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kleisner, K., & Maran, T. (2014). Visual communication in animals: Applying a Portmannian and Uexküllian biosemiotic approach.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleisner, K., & Markoš, A. (2005). Semetic rings: Towards the new concept of mimetic resemblances. Theory in Biosciences, 123(3), 209–222.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kleisner, K., & Saribay, S. A. (2019). The dual nature of mimicry: Organismal form and Beholder’s eye. Biosemiotics, 12(1), 79–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knoll, A. H. (2011). The multiple origins of complex multicellularity. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 39(1), 217–239.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knoll, A., & Hewitt, D. (2011). Phylogenetic, functional, and geological perspectives on complex multicellularity (pp. 251–270).

    Google Scholar 

  • Komárek, S. (2003). Mimicry, aposematism and related phenomena. Mimetism in nature and the history of its study. Lincom Europa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kull, K. (2010). Ecosystems are made of Semiosic Bonds: Consortia, Umwelten, Biophony and Ecological Codes. Biosemiotics, 3(3), 347–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kull, K. (2020). Semiotic fitting and the Nativeness of community. Biosemiotics, 13, 9–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lima de Faria, A. (1988). Evolution without selection: Form and function by autoevolution. Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, A. G., Mcllroy, D., & Brasier, M. D. (2010). First evidence for locomotion in the Ediacara biota from the 565 ma mistaken point formation, Newfoundland. Geology, 38(2), 123–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnus, R. (2021). Novel ecological mismatches in the light of Jakob von Uexküll’s and Adolf Portmann’s works. In F. Jaroš & J. Klouda (Eds.), Adolf Portmann: A thinker of self-expressive life (pp. 71–87). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Maran, T. (2017). Mimicry and meaning: Structure and semiotics of biological mimicry (Vol. 16). Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Maynard Smith, J., & Harper, D. (2003). Animal signals. Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Maynard Smith, J., & Szathmary, E. (1997). The major transitions in evolution. Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Minelli, A., & Pradeu, T. (Eds.). (2014). Towards a theory of development. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagy, L. G., Kovács, G. M., & Krizsán, K. (2018). Complex multicellularity in fungi: Evolutionary convergence, single origin, or both? Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 93(4), 1778–1794.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura, Y., Tuji, A., Kimoto, K., Yamaguchi, A., Hori, R. S., & Suzuki, N. (2021). Ecology, morphology, phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Giant radiolarians, Orodaria ord. nov. (Radiolaria; Rhizaria; SAR). Protist, 172(3), 125808.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neustupa, J. (2017). Asymmetry and integration of cellular morphology in Micrasterias compereana. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 17(1), 1.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Olteanu, A. (2021). Multimodal modeling: Bridging biosemiotics and social semiotics. Biosemiotics, 14(3), 783–805.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, A. (2000). 515 million years of structural colour. Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics, 2(6), 15–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, A. (2003). In the blink of an eye: How vision sparked the big bang of evolution. Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, A. (2011). On the origin of optics. Optics and Laser Technology, 43(2), 323–329.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paterson, J. R., Edgecombe, G. D., & Lee, M. S. Y. (2019). Trilobite evolutionary rates constrain the duration of the Cambrian explosion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(10), 4394–4399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, S. E., & Gaines, R. R. (2012). Formation of the “great unconformity” as a trigger for the Cambrian explosion. Nature, 484(7394), 363–366.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Portmann, A. (1960). Neue Wege der Biologie. R. Piper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharov, A. A. (2016). Evolution of natural agents: Preservation, advance, and emergence of functional information. Biosemiotics, 9, 103–120.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Shen, B., Dong, L., Xiao, S., & Kowalewski, M. (2008). The Avalon explosion: Evolution of Ediacara Morphospace. Science, 319(5859), 81–84.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. L., Bruhn, J. N., & Anderson, J. B. (1992). The fungus Armillaria bulbosa is among the largest and oldest living organisms. Nature, 356(6368), 428–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Švorcová, J., & Kleisner, K. (2018). Evolution by meaning attribution: Notes on biosemiotic interpretations of extended evolutionary synthesis. Biosemiotics, 11(2), 231–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka, J. W., & Corneille, O. (2007). Typicality effects in face and object perception: Further evidence for the attractor field model. Perception & Psychophysics, 69, 619–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tarjuelo, I., López-Legentil, S., Codina, M., & Turon, X. (2002). Defence mechanisms of adults and larvae of colonial ascidians: Patterns of palatability and toxicity. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 235, 103–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, A. R., Brownlee, C., & Wheeler, G. (2017). Coccolithophore cell biology: Chalking up Progress. Annual Review of Marine Science, 9(1), 283–310.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tullberg, B. S., Merilaita, S., & Wiklund, C. (2005). Aposematism and crypsis combined as a result of distance dependence: Functional versatility of the colour pattern in the swallowtail butterfly larva. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 272(1570), 1315–1321.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Uexküll, J. (1928). Theoretische Biologie. Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Von Wahlert, G. (1999). Portmann’s work in a newer evolutionary perspective. Revue européenne des sciences sociales, 37(115), 75–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wei, G.-Y., Planavsky, N. J., Tarhan, L. G., Chen, X., Wei, W., Li, D., & Ling, H.-F. (2018). Marine redox fluctuation as a potential trigger for the Cambrian explosion. Geology, 46(7), 587–590.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • White, J., & Yamashita, F. (2022). Boquila trifoliolata mimics leaves of an artificial plastic host plant. Plant Signaling & Behavior, 17(1), 1977530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wickler, W. (1968). Mimikry: Nachahmung und Täuschung in der Natur. Kindler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, R., & Zhuravlev, A. Y. (2012). Escalation and ecological selectively of mineralogy in the Cambrian radiation of skeletons. Earth-Science Reviews, 115(4), 249–261.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yin, L., Meng, F., Kong, F., & Niu, C. (2020). Microfossils from the Paleoproterozoic Hutuo group, Shanxi, North China: Early evidence for eukaryotic metabolism. Precambrian Research, 342, 105650.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Karel Kleisner

Authors
  1. Karel Kleisner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karel Kleisner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Jana Švorcová

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kleisner, K. (2024). Agency and Appearance: Reading the Face of Life. In: Švorcová, J. (eds) Organismal Agency. Biosemiotics, vol 28. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53626-7_14

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation