Lithosemiotics: a telluric semiosis for investigating inorganic life

Abstract This article introduces lithosemiotics, a new theoretical framework that extends semiotic inquiry to the mineralogical domain, challenging the traditional biosemiotic assumption that semiosis is confined to living systems. Lithosemiotics posits that minerals, through their structural properties and interactions, participate in semiosic processes by encoding and transmitting information about their formation, environmental conditions, and geological transformations. This framework expands the boundaries of semiosis, bridging the divide between organic and inorganic systems. The discussion unfolds in three sections. The first critically examines the concept of “life,” highlighting its variable definitions across scientific, philosophical, and cultural contexts. This analysis questions the exclusivity of semiosis to biological systems. The second section explores lithosemiosis, using the concept of mineral evolution to reveal the semiotic potential of minerals as geochemical archives and agents of information transmission. The third section presents interdisciplinary case studies, including the philosophical significance of crystals and the material agency of minerals in shaping cognition and history. Lithosemiotics redefines the scope of semiotic theory, demonstrating the continuity of semiosis across living and non-living realms. This approach challenges biocentric paradigms, fosters interdisciplinary research, and provides a robust framework for analyzing semiosic processes in complex systems.