Life has been defined in many ways. In this journal, it has been described as autopoiesis, or self-making 1-3. Autopoiesis is the ability of living systems to break down and remake themselves while maintaining their self-organization. Cells and all living organisms are systems that produce their own components at the expense of nutrients and energy obtained from the environment. However, for living systems to make themselves and survive in their environment, they must also use codes and signs, such as the genetic code (DNA) and signs such as proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates that send and receive signals. Life requires communication. The term biosemiotics is the idea that life is based on signs and codes. Semiotics is the study of signs. It is a self-corrective process that involves cooperative interactions between three components. They are the Sign (Representamen), the Object, and the Interpretant (S-O-I).

Semiotic systems are self-corrective or goal-directed activity that depends on the system’s ability to use signs as media that communicate forms from the Object to the Interpretant. Biosemiotics is the study of signs in living systems. Life uses semiotic processes that are found in every living system. Physical reality is limited by the laws of physics and mathematics, which are based on formal logic. However, the realm of imagination and creating meaning has no such limits. Perhaps semiotics, the science of signs, can tell us something important about this wide variety.

The ability to use and interpret signs is a fundamental property of all life, not just humans. A plant's ability to grow towards a light source is a form of semiosis. The light is the sign, and the plant's growth is its response and representation of that sign. Still, semiosis also exists in non-living systems, such as chemical reactions or the formation of geological strata. Semiosis also addresses the social and cultural production of meaning. Significance and interpretation are two concepts that are not only associated with humans but also with all living organisms.

However, code has different meanings in mathematics, computer science, and culture 4. Codes are used in cellular processes, perception, cognition, and communication in ecosystems. In human language, codes and symbols influence the ways that people behave in groups. Unconsciously, even our dreams depend on codes. In the future, different coding systems will be used in synthetic biology and artificial intelligence 5.

There is a clear difference between a theory of codes (signification systems) and a theory of sign production. The human mind is just one dimension of our semiosphere. The mind can be thought of as a dynamic instrument that is used to affect our environment. The physical presence consists of energy, chemistry, and biological processes. Communication systems are networked layers of media. They form an infrastructure of languages, interfaces, apparatuses, and platforms that link all aspects of life to information science.

There is a theory of mind, matter, and media that has an interdisciplinary perspective on the nature of living systems. This theory helps us see the intersection of the three dimensions of experience: the internal human-cognitive dimension known as mind, the external non-human physical world, known as matter, and the space of information, known as media. Media not only function to link the two other dimensions, but it also blur their lines of division within complex phenomena. That intermediate space is defined as a semiosphere. It is a multi-dimensional space of communication that flows in time. Linguistic systems impact cognitive, material, and communicative functions collectively within any phenomenon.

The Theory of Mind, Matter, and Media addresses complex environmental problems. It improves ecological literacy as well as the performance of ecological systems and the deep connections between humans and our environment. Semiotics form the universal space of signification. All semiotic systems operate and interact to create meaning. It is like a sphere in which all forms of communication function together.

The semiosphere is not a physical space, but a semiotic one. It is a conceptual environment outside of which no meaning can exist. It is the global space where all signs operate, including sounds, colors, smells, movements, and chemical signals. A sign cannot exist or be understood without being in relation to other signs within the semiosphere. It has a boundary separating it from the non-semiotic space that surrounds it. The semiosphere is not homogeneous. It has an internal structure that has a core and a periphery. It is a heterogeneous space filled with languages and systems that are connected yet different. Some can be translatable or untranslatable. The semiosphere is considered the elementary unit of a holistic theory of culture and is seen as the semiotic space necessary for the existence and development of language. The semiosphere is the sphere of all life's sign processes and communication. It is not just the chemical changes brought about by life 6.

Signs and meanings exist from small molecules to large organisms. The genetic code is just one of many codes made from organic molecules. It is part of a long series of organic codes that enabled the emergence and evolution of life. The existence of these organic codes implies that life is based on copying and coding. This implies that evolution occurs by natural selection (based on copying) and by natural conventions (based on coding). The DNA codes for mRNA, which codes for proteins, which code for lipids and carbohydrates. So, there is a sugar or glycol-code that includes all the glycosylated biochemicals that have shaped the history of life on our planet. This includes not only proteins but also lipids. There are proteins called lectins that can read the glycol-code. Proteins and RNA are produced not just through a genetic code, but also through a network of biochemicals, signals, and reactions. So, different mechanisms of evolution exist at different levels of organization 3.

Biological agents can be thought of as cybernetic state machines 6. They can switch between functional states to balance stability, adaptability, and complexity. Physical and informational compartmentalization enables agents to accumulate information and achieve organizational closure, while producing complexity. This framework links energy, entropy, and information. All forms of life represent the world around them through signs. We become conscious through the semiotic development of living systems and their autopoietic semiospheres that are in the form of sign games for shared communication. At some point, sign games evolve into human language games.

We bring forth or create a unique world based on our specific biological and environmental conditions. Life is a process of communication and representation through signs. Communication and the production of meaning are qualities of living systems. Meaning and reality are parts of reality. Every cell and all organisms use semiosis to survive and interact with the environment. Living systems interpret signs and create meaning. Semiosis is a continuous cycle of communication and representation. Organisms exist because they can represent themselves and interpret their environment through a system of signs. Humans have a unique responsibility for the health of the entire semiosphere. This means that we should evaluate the effects of our actions on the complex web of life and signs on the biosphere, also known as Gaia and Mother Earth.

Notes

1 The Santiago school. Autopoiesis and the biologics of life on Meer.
2 Systems thinking and its implications on Meer.
3 Biosemiotics, code biology, and operational interpretation on De Gruyter Bill.
4 Codes across (life)sciences on ScienceDirect.
5 Beyond the genome: A multi-scale, agent-based taxonomy of biological codes and energetic constraints on ScienceDirect.
6 The Semiosphere. Our connected universe of mind, matter, and Media on Semiosphere.