Welcome to the homepage of

Tommi Vehkavaara

Tommi.Vehkavaara[at]uta.fi

University of Tampere - School of Social Sciences and Humanities - Philosophy

This page is intended for personal use (as a link-collection, sorry, it's poorly categorized), but if you feel interested in it, you are welcome to enter.

A short statement of my professional interests.

Contents:
Some papers
Contact info
Teaching - Opetus
Links
- Classics
- Journals & interesting homepages
Events

Some papers of Tommi Vehkavaara

Working papers and unpublished presentations, comments and criticism are welcome (Tommi.Vehkavaara[at]uta.fi):: Truth and not much anything but the truth? Pragmatistic meaning in Peircean semiotics and its consequences to biosemiotics as a generalised cognitive theory
(slides of a talk in Seventh Conference of the Nordic Association for Semiotic Studies (NASS), Lund, Sweden, May 6-8, 2011); The roles of action in the pragmaticist philosophy
(slides of a talk in The Third Nordic Pragmatism Conference, Uppsala, Sweden, June 1-2, 2010); The failure of evolutionary epistemology - lessons to biosemiotics?
(slides of a talk in Gathering in Biosemiotics 8, Syros, Greece, June 23-27, 2008); How Many Concepts of Normative Signs Are Needed?
(slides of a talk in Applying Peirce, Helsinki, Finland, June 11-13, 2007); Meaning for Life,
(slides of a talk in Gathering in Biosemiotics 6, Salzburg, Austria, July 5-9, 2006); Biosemiotics as a science and as an existential philosophy,
(slides of a talk in Gathering in Biosemiotics 5, Urbino, Italy, July 20-24, 2005); From the motives and methods of biosemiotics to experiential existential naturalism,
(slides of a talk in Gathering in Biosemiotics 4, Prague, Czech Republic, July 1-5, 2004); Interactivist naturalization of Peircean semeiotic and biosemiotics,
(draft of a presentation in ISI-2003, 22-26.7.2003, Copenhagen, Denmark); Some Conceptual Extensions in Biosemiotics and the Extended Concept of Knowledge,
(draft of a presentation held in ISISSS-1998, Imatra, Finland)
Diagrams:: Charles Peirce's outline classification of sciences ('final vesion' 1902-1911, compiled by me 2000).; Development of Peirce's classification of sciences - three stages: 1889, 1898, 1903.

In English:

Semethics (2012)

From the logic of science to the logic of the living. The relevance of Charles Peirce to biosemiotics, (2006)

Limitations on applying Peircean semeiotic - Biosemiotics as applied objective ethics and esthetics (rather than semeiotic)? (2005)

Discussion in International Society for Biosemiotic Studies Open Peer Review and Commentary:

- commentaries (by Marcello Barbieri, Donald Favareau, Edwina Taborsky, and Günther Witzany)

- my reply to commentaries

Natural self-interest, interactive representation, and the emergence of objects and Umwelt: An outline of basic semiotic concepts for biosemiotics, (2003)

Why and how to naturalize semiotic concepts for biosemiotics, (2002)

Extended Concept of Knowledge for Evolutionary Epistemology and for Biosemiotics, (1998)

A Metaontology and the Metaphysics of Différance.A Hermeneutical Interpretation of Différance and its relation to metaphysics, (1995/1998)

In Finnish:

Vailla varmaa perustaa. C. S. Peircen logiikkakäsityksestä ja matematiikanfilosofiasta
("Without Absolute Certainty and Foundation. On C. S. Peirce's conception about logic and mathematics", 2004)

Filosofisen tiedon luonne ja positiivisen filosofian puolustus,

("The Nature of Philosophical Knowledge and an Apology for Positive Philosophy", 2003.)

Mielen merkillisyydestä, Review-artikkeli: C.S. Peirce: Johdatus tieteen logiikkaan ja muita kirjoituksia, (2002).

Discussion in Niin & näin 3/2002:

- comment from translator, Markus Lång: Mielettömiä odotuksia eli filosofiaa sanasta sanaan? Vastine Lis. Vehkavaaralle.

- my response: Ideoiden selkeyttämisen puolesta - kommentteja Markus Långin vastineeseen, (2002).

More discussion in Niin & näin 4/2002 and 1/2003.

Evolutionaarinen epistemologia: idea ja esihistoria, ("Evolutionary epistemology: the idea and prehistory", 2001).

In Explanatory Connections Electronic essays dedicated to Matti Sintonen, (eds. Mika Kiikeri & Petri Ylikoski).

Filosofian paluu?, ("Come-back of philosophy?", 2001). Korjattu versio.

Huom! Lehdessä Niin & näin 2/2001 artikkelista julkaistiin toimituksen erehdyksen vuoksi varhaisempi ja korjaamaton versio.

Tietoa ilman uskomuksia, ("Knowledge without beliefs", 1997/2000).

Discussion in Königsberg 3/2000:

- comment from Ilkka Niiniluoto: Uskomuksia ilman tietoa? ("Beliefs without knowledge?"),

- my response: Mitäpä uskomuksilla ilman tietoa? ("No beliefs without knowledge?", 2000).

Sopeutuminen tietoprosessina, ("Adaptation as a knowledge process", 1998).

Huijauksia vai konstruktioita?, ("Cheatings or constructions?", 1997).

Loogisen systemaattisuuden kritiikki. Sympaattinen johdatus Stephen Toulminin filosofiaan,

("A Critic of Logical Systematicity. A Sympathetic Introduction to the Philosophy of Stephen Toulmin", 1997).

My licenciate thesis (in finnish, pdf-format, vii + 243 pages):

Miten ja miksi meillä on taito toimia tarkoituksenmukaisesti?

("Action-knowledge as an Extended Conception of Knowledge,

Toimintatieto laajennettuna tietokäsityksenä

eli

How and Why We Have Skills to Act Appropriately?", 1999)

List of my publications

Contact information

Street address:: Kanslerinrinne 1 (building Pinni B, room 4134)
Postal address:: School of Social Sciences and Humanities - Philosophy; FI-33014 University of Tampere; Finland
Phone:: (+358 50) 318 6122 (work); (+358 40) 755 8109 (home)
Home address:: Finninmäenkatu 16 G 7; FI-33710 Tampere; Finland
E-mail:: tommi.vehkavaara[at]uta.fi

Teaching - Opetus: (back to top)

Kirjatentit (syksy 2012):
FILP2, Logiikka, 5 op.
PHILPE7, Johdatus logiikkaan, 5 op.
- yksi kirjavaihtoeto on verkossa:
Rantala & Virtanen: Logiikan peruskurssi. (2003, pdf-tiedosto, 96 s. Harjoitustehtäviä tässä.)

Vanhoja luentokursseja ja seminaareja:

Johdatus logiikkaan (vuodesta 1995 alkaen usein)
Logiikan jatkokurssi (ainakin kevät 2004 ja 2011): Perustuu osin teoksen Rantala & Virtanen: Johdatus modaalilogiikkaan (2004), osaan 1.
Työseminaari: William James: Pragmatism, maalis-huhtikuu 2004 (seuraa ilmoitustaulua).
Työseminaari: Descartes: Mietiskelyjä ensimmäisestä filosofiasta (kirjassa Teokset II), kevät 2004.
Lisensiaatti- ja tutukijaseminaari. Ohjelma.
Logiikka I, syksy 2003:
    Logiikan peruskurssi, 3 ov,
    Joukko-opin alkeet, 1 ov (Rantala & Virtanen: Joukko-opin alkeita. 2003) ja
    Predikaattilogiikan semantiikkaa, 1 ov.

Links (back to top)

University of Tampere - School of Social Sciences and Humanities - Philosophy

(Personally) most important links:

Essential organizations etc.:
International society for biosemiotic studies
Gatherings in Biosemiotics also here
Biosemiotics homepage
The Institute for Interactivist Studies
Commens: Peirce studies site
niin & näin
Zenshindojo ry

Some 'less' essential organizations etc.:
The Uexkull Centre
Konrad Lorenz Institute (KLI)
Naturalisms.org
Nordic Pragmatism Network
The Center Leo Apostel
Complex Adaptive Systems Research Group (CASRG)
VCU Complexity Research Group
The Pragmatism Cybrary
Semiosis, Evolution, Energy
Suomen Filosofinen Yhdistys r.y.
Suomen Semiotiikan Seura
Valtakunnallinen filosofian tutkijakoulu
Kiipeilykerho Vertikaali ry