Jakob Johann Baron von Uexküll (1864–1944) was a biologist and philosopher, but he was considered an odd academic at the time – without a PhD or formal qualification. Nevertheless, his research work and publications were formative for twentieth-century biology. He is considered a pioneer in cybernetics and theoretical biology and is seen as a pioneer in ecology. As early as 1909, von Uexküll coined the term ecology, which was rarely used in everyday life at the time.
In 1934 his work “Stripzüge Through the Environments of Animals and Humans” was published. Now it has been reissued. With this book, the author overturns the previously held view that all living things can only be seen and understood as machines. However, humans and animals do not interact according to an immutable stimulus-response system, but according to related requirements and goals. The author sees the importance of the environment for a living organism as central to its life. This basic view states that every living being—whether human or animal—has a personal space and a self-determined time. The anatomical structure, physiological functions and therefore the behavior of an organism are shaped by the characteristics of the environment relevant to it. According to Uexküll, the relationship that exists between different organisms and their respective environments is based on meanings. These antibiotics understand life processes as a biomarker and communication processes.
We don’t realize this much in biology today, but it is reflected in our understanding of evolutionary adaptation: sensory perception and motor processes adapt to an organism’s needs. The world of the fly is different from what we think of as the environment. Von Uexküll describes clear examples close to our personal experience and knowledge. The life of ticks, flies, birds, dogs or children and adults is described, and the reader sees himself in a human environment and, above all, in non-human environments, which is always based on a very specific personal perspective.
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