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Habit in Semiosis: Two Different Perspectives Based on Hierarchical Multi-level System Modeling and Niche Construction Theory

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Consensus on Peirce’s Concept of Habit

Part of the book series: Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics ((SAPERE,volume 31))

Abstract

Habit in semiosis can be modeled both as a macro-level in a hierarchical multi-level system where it functions as boundary conditions for emergence of semiosis, and as a cognitive niche produced by an ecologically-inherited environment of cognitive artifacts. According to the first perspective, semiosis is modeled in terms of a multilayered system, with micro functional entities at the lower-level and with higher-level processes being mereologically composed of these lower-level entities. According to the second perspective, habits are embedded in ecologically-inherited environments of signs that co-evolve with cognition. Both descriptions offer a novel approximation of Peirce’s semiotics and theoretical findings in other areas (hierarchy theory, evolutionary biology), suggesting new frameworks to approach the concept of habit integrated with its role in semiosis.

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Acknowledgments

P.A. acknowledges the financial support of CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasília—DF 70040-020, Brazil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University, Juiz de Fora, Brazil

    Pedro Atã & João Queiroz

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  1. Pedro Atã
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  2. João Queiroz
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Correspondence to João Queiroz .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Modern Languages, State University of New York at Cortland, Cortland, New York, USA

    Donna E. West

  2. Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

    Myrdene Anderson

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Atã, P., Queiroz, J. (2016). Habit in Semiosis: Two Different Perspectives Based on Hierarchical Multi-level System Modeling and Niche Construction Theory. In: West, D., Anderson, M. (eds) Consensus on Peirce’s Concept of Habit. Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics, vol 31. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45920-2_7

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