從浪漫科學談生物符號學

Romantic Scientific Aspects of Biosemiotics

本文採用浪漫科學的觀點，試圖在幾個不同的脈絡中勾勒生物符號學的要旨於一二。主要觀點如下：有必要在中外文學談生物符號學嗎？因為語文的學習應該要與知識的增長並進，而外文的學習，應該要能學以致用，所以介紹外國重要的思想是外文工作者學以致用的天職。而在科學史和符號學史的脈絡中，生物符號學是近百年來一門牽扯寬廣、影響方興未艾的新興學科。從生物符號學的創始人雅各．魏克斯庫爾（Jakob von Uexküll, 1864-1944）的學術著作中，可看出其學術思想發展的脈絡和體系。而且在各個不同的學術領域中，有多位傑出的學者，當中包括幾位諾貝爾獎的得主，其思想學說和生物符號學都有可以相互發明的地方，如達爾文（Darwin）、羅倫茲（Lorenz）、列能伯格（Lenneberg）、麥克林（MacLean）、赫柏（Hebb）、皮亞傑（Piaget）、坎德（Kandel）、利柏曼（Lieberman）、任金（Jenkins）、狄肯（Deacon）、馬歇爾與華倫（Marshall & Warren）等。種種跡象顯示，生物符號學廣泛的包容力和其所代表的科學觀和世界觀正冥冥中在不同的學科之間匯聚醞釀成一股不容忽視的現代學術思想潮流和一種可以倡導健康生態的新世界觀。

Since a comprehensive introduction to a multifaceted interdisciplinary complex such as biosemiotics is hardly realistic within the given framework, this paper intends to present only certain aspects of biosemiotics from a romantic scientific point of view. Following a brief introduction of methodology in romantic science, this paper continues with the section on justification for a special issue of biosemiotics in a journal specialized in Chinese and Foreign Literature. For language development is inseparable from learning of relevant knowledge, therefore introducing important thoughts embedded in a foreign language and culture is an inevitable mission for foreign language scholars. And in context of history of science and semiotics, biosemiotics is a promising new field with broad interdisciplinary connections. How the thoughts of Jakob von Uexküll (1864-1944, regarded as the founder of biosemiotics) evolved can be traced in context of his publications. Many distinguished scholars in various disciplines such as Darwin, Lorenz, Lenneberg, MacLean, Hebb, Piaget, Kandel, Lieberman, Jenkins, Deacon, Marshall & Warren-among them are some Nobel prize winners-shared and elaborated important thoughts in biosemiotics. It is readily observable that with its encompassing framework and direct or indirect supporters from across various disciplines, biosemiotics is becoming a remarkable interdisciplinary field and promising weltanschauung for better life and ecology.