This book is about the interrelationship between nature semiosis metarepresentation and
(self-)consciousness and the role played by metarepresentation in evolution. Representations
must have emerged via self-organization from non-representational systems (found in physics
chemistry and biology). Major steps have been the evolution of molecules macromolecules life
and finally cultural and symbolic systems. Representations and signs are therefore parts of a
huge possibly branching «ladder of beings». Metarepresentations - images representing images
language about language and language-use thoughts about thoughts - constitute a fascinating
theme within such diverse areas of research as philosophy literature theology anthropology
and history neuroscience psychology and linguistics. The contributions to this book reflect
this variety of different but often interrelated perspectives on metarepresentation. They also
exemplify the difficulties of a truly interdisciplinary discourse and show how one may start
such a discourse in the field of semiotics understood as a meta-discipline which brings
together all scientific enterprises dealing with human mind and human culture.
