Relationality and Metaphor—Doctrine of Signatures, Ecosemiosis, and Interspecies Communication
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDrawing on pertinent scholarship concerning ecosemiotic theory, lyric philosophy and Indigenous thought, the article constitutes a remarkable contribution to the field. Clearly structured and elegantly written, its major strength lies in that it brings together the Doctrine of Signatures and lyric thought as expounded by Canadian philosopher Jan Zwicky, for whom metaphor reveals itself to be a powerful tool to uncover the resonance inherent in what-is. Countering the calculative reasoning and extractive logic prevalent in industrialised societies, and in light of the unprecedented climate crisis we are faced with nowadays, the authors ultimately argue that ecosemiotics – and the acknowledgement that meaning is not the sole prerogative of our species – might help us relate to the more-than-human world in ways marked by attention and respect.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageThe authors are advised to revise minor details in their article:
Line 7: “consider “signatures” as a metaphorical approach” (the comma is to be deleted).
Line 28: “We see, for example, that a sodium…” (commas should be added).
Line 50: (Bennett 2008) (the comma is to be deleted).
Line 73: “assess their pharmacology” (NOT “assess of their pharmacology”).
Line 75: scholars (plural)
Line 78: “may be valid, but its complete dismissal” (a comma should be added).
Line 80: “to determine the value of this episteme” (NOT “determined of the value…”)
Line 88: “but also to more clearly perceive” should be “and also to more clearly…”
Line 89: “and, within this experience, not circumscribed” (a comma should be added).
Line 93: “We insist, nonetheless, that this approach…” (commas should be added).
Line 95: (Houle 2015, 56) (delete comma after Houle).
Line 102: “canadensis), an herbaceous…” (a comma should be added).
Line 107: “(the sign), which signifies” (a comma should be added).
Line 120: maculata3 (is this a typo?)
Line 133: (Deloria & Wildcat 2001) (the comma should be deleted).
Line 136: “reified categories, but” (a comma should be added).
Line 150: “first focused” (why not “first focus”?)
Line 156: “This compound, as well as…, have evolved over time” (a comma should be added).
Line 202: Pavlov, not Pavolv (the typo is repeated twice).
Line 217: “arborscent” should be “arborescent”.
Line 220: “the more-than-human”.
Line 222: “presents with large molars…” should read “presents large molars…”.
Line 224: “(Strait & al. 2009), indicating” (a comma should be added).
Line 262: “refer to as old-growth mind” (old-growth mind could be set in italics).
Line 274: “(Barad 2007), is also more…” (a comma should be added).
Line 282: “perspective, perhaps” (a comma should be added).
Line 320: “and in the broad sense,” (a comma should be added).
Line 322: “beings’ gestures” (there is an extra blank space).
Line 324: “and that “this capacity.” (‘that’ should be deleted).
Line 329: “and that original, unassimilated” (‘that’ should be deleted).
Line 335: “modern medicine’s logic itself, is not foreign” (a comma should be added).
Line 343: “has been, […], obliterated” (one of the two commas should be deleted).
Line 346: “novel solutions” (plural).
Line 353: “acknowledge, however, that metaphors…” (commas should be added).
Line 360: “and, at the same time, it is not human lungs” (a comma should be added).
Line 374: “which illustrates” (not “which is illustrates”).
Line 377: “Has DoS has been relegated…” should read “Has DoS been …”
Line 288: “Zwicky (2008) suggests that “those…”
Line 397: “which, according to Butler (2004), is…” (a comma should be added).
Line 400: ‘relationality ’ (there is an extra blank space here).
The authors are also advised to thoroughly revise the References section to ensure they comply with the journal’s guidelines. These are only instances:
20. “Animal, vegetable, mineral: ethics as extension or becoming?”
23. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 93
25. “Heaven, earth and humans: color harmony in Chinese culture”
All of the Zwicky references (except for the 1995 one) are missing. The Heiti reference is also missing.
Author Response
Please see our response to reviewer 1 in the attached document.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsPlease see attached file for reviewer notes.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Please see the attached document for our responses to the feedback from reviewer 2.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsPlease see the attached set of notes on the second review.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Please see attachment
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
