Abstract
We analyze the concepts of semiotic catalysis (or semiocatalysis) and semiotic scaffolding (or semioscaffolding) in the framework of general semiotics. Semiotic catalysis (as different from chemical catalysis) concerns the qualitative aspects of catalysis. In this sense, signs are catalysts for sign processes or semiosis. Life is catalytically closed namely in the sense of semiotic catalysis. Semiosis produces scaffolding which is the way to keep and canalize communicational processes. Catalytic and scaffolding functions of signs have an important role in semiotic dynamics.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Barthes, R. (1968). Elements of semiology. New York: Hill and Wang.
Barthes, R. (1970). S/Z. Paris: Seuil.
Beckstead, Z., Cabell, K. R., & Valsiner, J. (2009). Generalizing through conditional analysis: Systemic causality in the world of eternal becoming. Humana Mente, 11, 65–80.
Bernstein, N. A. (1967). The co-ordination and regulation of movements. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Cabell, K. R. (2012). The systemic conditions of catalysis: What psychology can (and cannot) learn from chemistry? [Manuscript.].
Cabell, K. R., & Valsiner, J. (2011). Catalysis: Cultural constructions and the conditions for change. Journal of Integrated Social Sciences, 2(1), 1–12.
Cavalier-Smith, T. (1987). The origin of cells: A symbiosis between genes, catalysts, and membranes. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, 52, 805–824.
Clark, A. (2008). Supersizing the mind: Embodiment, action, and cognitive extension. New York: Oxford University Press.
Elsasser, W. M. (1998). Reflections on a theory of organisms: Holism in biology. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Foley, J. (1994). Scaffolding. ELT Journal, 48(1), 101–102.
Hjelmslev, L. (1953/1943). Prolegomena to a theory of language. Baltimore: Waverly Press.
Hoffmeyer, J. (2007). Semiotic scaffolding of living systems. In M. Barbieri (Ed.), Introduction to biosemiotics: The new biological synthesis (pp. 149–166). Dordrecht: Springer.
Hoffmeyer, J. (2013). The semiome: From genetic to semiotic scaffolding. Semiotica (in press).
Hoffmeyer, J., & Kull, K. (2003). Baldwin and biosemiotics: What intelligence is for. In B. H. Weber, & D. J. Depew (Eds.), Evolution and learning: The Baldwin effect reconsidered (pp. 253–272). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Jahn, I. (1998). Geschichte der Biologie (3rd ed.). Jena: G. Fischer.
Josephs, I. E. (2003). Varieties of dialogue: Instead of an introduction. In I. E. Josephs (Ed.), Dialogicality in development (pp. vii–xvii). Westport: Praeger.
Kauffman, S. (2012). From physics to semiotics. In S. Rattasepp, & T. Bennett (Eds.), Gatherings in biosemiotics (pp. 30–46). (Tartu Semiotics Library 11.) Tartu: University of Tartu Press.
Kendrew J., & Lawrence E. (Eds.). (1994). The encyclopedia of molecular biology. Oxford: Blackwell Science.
Kotov, K., & Kull, K. (2011). Semiosphere is the relational biosphere. In C. Emmeche, & K. Kull (Eds.), Towards a semiotic biology: Life is the action of signs (pp. 179–194). London: Imperial College Press.
Kull, K. (2011). Life is many, and sign is essentially plural: On the methodology of biosemiotics. In C. Emmeche, & K. Kull (Eds.), Towards a semiotic biology: Life is the action of signs (pp. 113–129). London: Imperial College Press.
Kull, K. (2012a). Scaffolding. In D. Favareau, P. Cobley, & K. Kull (Eds.), A more developed sign: Interpreting the work of Jesper Hoffmeyer (pp 227–230). (Tartu Semiotics Library 10.) Tartu: Tartu University Press.
Kull, K. (2012b). Advancements in biosemiotics: Where we are now in discovering the basic mechanisms of meaning-making. In S. Rattasepp, & T. Bennett (Eds.), Gatherings in biosemiotics (pp. 11–24). (Tartu Semiotics Library 11.) Tartu: University of Tartu Press.
Kull, K., Emmeche, C., & Favareau, D. (2008). Biosemiotic questions. Biosemiotics, 1(1), 41–55.
Lewin, K. (1927). Gesetz und Experiment in der Psychologie. Symposion, 1(4), 375–421.
Lotman, J. (2005/1984). On the semiosphere. Sign Systems Studies, 33(1), 215–239.
Mattos, E., & Chaves, A. M. (2012). Semiotic regulation through inhibitor signs: Creating a cycle of rigid meanings. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science Nov 28. [Epub ahead of print].
Morange, M. (2000). A history of molecular biology. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Thibault, P. J. (2011). Languaging behaviour as catalytic process: Steps towards a theory of living language. The Public Journal of Semiotics, 3(2), 2–151.
Thonhauser J. (Ed.). (2008). Aufgaben als Katalysatoren von Lernprozessen: Eine zentrale Komponente organisierten Lehrens und Lernens aus der Sicht von Lernforschung, Allgemeiner Didaktik und Fachdidaktik. Münster: Waxmann.
Valsiner, J. (2000). Culture and human development: An introduction. London: Sage.
Valsiner, J. (2005). Scaffolding within the structure of dialogical self: Hierarchical dynamics of semiotic mediation. New Ideas in Psychology, 23(3), 197–206.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1986/1934). Thought and language. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Wimsatt, W. C., & Griesemer, J. R. (2007). Reproducing entrenchments to scaffold culture: The central role of development in cultural evolution. In R. Sansom, & R. N. Brandon (Eds.), Integrating evolution and development: From theory to practice (pp. 227–323). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Wood, D., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17(2), 89–100.
Acknowledgements
I thank Jesper Hoffmeyer and Aleksei Sharov for their good comments. This work is related to the project IUT2-44 (Semiotic modelling of self-description mechanisms: Theory and applications), and the Centre of Excellence in Cultural Theory (supported by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kull, K. (2014). Catalysis and Scaffolding in Semiosis. In: Cabell, K., Valsiner, J. (eds) The Catalyzing Mind. Annals of Theoretical Psychology, vol 11. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8821-7_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8821-7_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-8820-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-8821-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)