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.
