A groundbreaking account of the origin and place of meaning in the
earthly biosphere
What is meaning? How
does it arise? Where is it found in the world? In recent years,
philosophers and scientists have answered these questions in
different ways. Some see meaning as a uniquely human achievement,
others extend it to trees, microbes, and even to the bonding of DNA
and RNA molecules. In this groundbreaking book, Gary Tomlinson
defines a middle path. Combining emergent thinking about evolution,
new research on animal behaviors, and theories of information and
signs, he tracks meaning far out into the animal world. At the same
time he discerns limits to its scope and identifies innumerable life
forms, including many animals and all other organisms, that make no
meanings at all.
Tomlinson's map of
meaning starts from signs, the fundamental units of reference or
aboutness. Where signs are at work they shape meaning-laden lifeways,
offering possibilities for distinctive organism/niche interactions
and sometimes leading to technology and culture. The emergence of
meaning does not, however, monopolize complexity in the living world.
Countless organisms generate awe-inspiring behavioral intricacies
without meaning. The Machines of Evolution and the Scope of
Meaning offers a revaluation of both meaning and meaninglessness,
uncovering a foundational difference in animal solutions to the hard
problem of life.