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Updated: Sep 26, 2025

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents
Published on: September 10, 2018
Rational decision making in biological systems.
1Retired, Bishop's University, Canada.
Biological systems are viewed as intelligent, self-organizing semiosic systems. Peircean semiosis explains their pragmatic environmental interactions, driving adaptation and evolution through natural processes.
Area of Science:
- Systems biology
- Philosophy of science
- Biosemiotics
Background:
- Traditional biological models often overlook the informational and pragmatic aspects of living systems.
- Understanding biological complexity requires a framework that accounts for continuous interaction and interpretation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present biological systems as self-organizing, semiosic entities.
- To introduce Peircean semiosis as a core analytical method for understanding biological intelligence and evolution.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing Charles Sanders Peirce's theory of semiosis as the primary analytical tool.
- Applying a triadic and networking functional approach to model biological systems.
Main Results:
- Biological systems are characterized as pragmatic and intelligent in their environmental operations.
- Peircean semiosis is identified as a fundamental natural process generating form and enabling adaptation.
Conclusions:
- Biological systems can be effectively understood as semiosic systems.
- This semiosic framework provides novel insights into the mechanisms of adaptation and evolution.
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