Uexküll and contemporary biology: Some methodological reconsiderations
Philosophical anthropology and philosophical biology were both very powerful and influential movements in the German academic discussion of the early 20th century. Starting with a similar conceptual background (particularly with reference to Hans Driesch’s bio-Aristotelism) they aimed at a synthetic...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Tartu Press
2004-12-01
|
| Series: | Sign Systems Studies |
| Online Access: | https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/sss/article/view/17573 |
| _version_ | 1798028416728956928 |
|---|---|
| author | Mathias Gutmann |
| author_facet | Mathias Gutmann |
| author_sort | Mathias Gutmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Philosophical anthropology and philosophical biology were both very powerful and influential movements in the German academic discussion of the early 20th century. Starting with a similar conceptual background (particularly with reference to Hans Driesch’s bio-Aristotelism) they aimed at a synthetic philosophy of nature, which was supposed to include human nature into the realm of a monist description of nature itself. Within this field of biophilosophical reasoning, Jakob von Uexküll’s theory of organism and his theoretical biology hold a central place. In this paper, Uexküll’s theoretical biology is reconsidered as a resumption and reformulation of a theory of knowledge from a “Kantian” provenience. Its specific structure as a generalized theory of knowledge is reconstructed and the pitfalls of a biological interpretation of the condition of the possibility of knowledge are outlined. The theory of organism is reconstructed as a centrepiece of Uexküll’s approach. The last section of this paper presents a proposal of engineering morphology which allows the full application of Uexküll’s insights into the relativity of organismic constitution. The usefulness of functional modeling for evolutionary reconstructions on the basis of a theory of organism of uexküllian type and its relevance for biological research is evaluated. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:08:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b59e9574bc454c89994dce88b7f4d21e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1406-4243 1736-7409 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:08:42Z |
| publishDate | 2004-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Tartu Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sign Systems Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-b59e9574bc454c89994dce88b7f4d21e2022-12-22T04:07:41ZengUniversity of Tartu PressSign Systems Studies1406-42431736-74092004-12-01321/210.12697/SSS.2004.32.1-2.07Uexküll and contemporary biology: Some methodological reconsiderationsMathias Gutmann0Institute of Philosophy, University of Marburg, Wilhelm-Röpke-Straße 6B, 35032 MarburgPhilosophical anthropology and philosophical biology were both very powerful and influential movements in the German academic discussion of the early 20th century. Starting with a similar conceptual background (particularly with reference to Hans Driesch’s bio-Aristotelism) they aimed at a synthetic philosophy of nature, which was supposed to include human nature into the realm of a monist description of nature itself. Within this field of biophilosophical reasoning, Jakob von Uexküll’s theory of organism and his theoretical biology hold a central place. In this paper, Uexküll’s theoretical biology is reconsidered as a resumption and reformulation of a theory of knowledge from a “Kantian” provenience. Its specific structure as a generalized theory of knowledge is reconstructed and the pitfalls of a biological interpretation of the condition of the possibility of knowledge are outlined. The theory of organism is reconstructed as a centrepiece of Uexküll’s approach. The last section of this paper presents a proposal of engineering morphology which allows the full application of Uexküll’s insights into the relativity of organismic constitution. The usefulness of functional modeling for evolutionary reconstructions on the basis of a theory of organism of uexküllian type and its relevance for biological research is evaluated.https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/sss/article/view/17573 |
| spellingShingle | Mathias Gutmann Uexküll and contemporary biology: Some methodological reconsiderations Sign Systems Studies |
| title | Uexküll and contemporary biology: Some methodological reconsiderations |
| title_full | Uexküll and contemporary biology: Some methodological reconsiderations |
| title_fullStr | Uexküll and contemporary biology: Some methodological reconsiderations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Uexküll and contemporary biology: Some methodological reconsiderations |
| title_short | Uexküll and contemporary biology: Some methodological reconsiderations |
| title_sort | uexkull and contemporary biology some methodological reconsiderations |
| url | https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/sss/article/view/17573 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mathiasgutmann uexkullandcontemporarybiologysomemethodologicalreconsiderations |