Jakob von Uexküll : The Discovery of the Umwelt between Biosemiotics and Theoretical Biology / by Carlo Brentari.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brentari, Carlo, author.

Contributor:

SpringerLink (Online service)

Series:

Biomedical and Life Sciences (Springer-11642)

Biosemiotics 1875-4651 ; 9.

Biosemiotics, 1875-4651 ; 9

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Biology--Philosophy.

Biology.

Philosophy, Modern.

Animal ecology.

Biotic communities.

Philosophy of Biology.

Modern Philosophy.

Animal Ecology.

Ecosystems.

Local Subjects:

Philosophy of Biology.

Modern Philosophy.

Animal Ecology.

Ecosystems.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (XI, 249 pages).

Edition:

First edition 2015.

Contained In:

Springer eBooks

Place of Publication:

Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands : Imprint: Springer, 2015.

System Details:

text file PDF

Summary:

The book is a comprehensive introduction to the work of the Estonian-German biologist Jakob von Uexküll. After a first introductory chapter by Morten Tønnessen and a second chapter on Uexküll's life and philosophical background, it contains four chapters devoted to the analysis of his main works; they are followed by a vast eighth chapter which deals with the influence Uexküll had on other philosophers and scientists, and by a conclusions focused on the possibility of updating Uexküll's work. The monograph combines a careful reconstruction of the historical context in which the Uexküllian concepts emerged (the debate between mechanism and vitalism, contemporary scientific studies) and a thorough analysis of the philosophical contents of the Uexküllian views. As far as the key issue is concerned, Uexküll's notion of Umwelt refers to the perceptive and operative world which surrounds animal species; it is a subjective species-specific construction which provides living organisms with great security and behaviour stability. Moreover, the relationship that the animal carries out with its environment proves to be a complex system of semiotic interactions: its behaviour is not a set of mechanical reactions, but the result of a spontaneous attribution of meaning to the outside world, whose environmental elements are actively interpreted by the subject. The environment of animal species becomes a field of meaning, an exceedingly complex subjective elaboration; this can lessen the distance between animals and men, crediting both with the cognitive ability to grasp meanings and to use signs.

Contents:

Acknowledgments Introductory Chapter

The Life and Education of Jakob von Uexküll. The Basis of the Environmental Theory

The Subjective World of the Umwelt

The Structure of the Umwelt

Environment and Meaning

Influences and Interpretations of the Work of Uexküll

Conclusion. References

Index.

Other Format:

Printed edition:

ISBN:

978-94-017-9688-0

9789401796880

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.