Brief introduction to Jakob von Uexküll's notion of «Umwelt» and his merleaupontyan reading
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54103/balthazar/20318Keywords:
Jakob von Uexküll, Merleau-Ponty, Nature, Umwelt, animal studiesAbstract
This article intends to present the main notions of the theory of the Umwelt and the architecture of the new biology that the estonian-german biologist Jakob von Uexküll built in the first half of the 20th century. It will be shown how these concepts open up a new consideration of non-human animals, no longer as machine-objects, but as subjects in their own terms. Likewise, the reading carried out by Merleau-Ponty on von Uexküll in La Nature: Notes Cours du Collège de France and the influence that the Estonian-German had on the french philosopher will be exposed, in order to find meeting points that build bridges between the animal world and the human world.