Neurobiology of ''Umwelt'': How Living Beings Perceive the World (Research and Perspectives in Neurosciences)

At the beginning of the 20th century, German biologist Jakob von Uexküll created the concept of "Umwelt" to denote the environment as experienced by a subject. This concept of environment differs from the idea of passive surroundings and is defined not just by physical surroundings, but is rather a "subjective universe", a space weighted with meaning. Today, neuroscience provides a new way to look at the brain’s capability to create a representation of the world. At the same time behavioural specialists are demonstrating that animals have a richer mental universe than previously known. Philosophical reflection thus finds itself with more experimental and objective data as well. Nearly a century after the publication of von Uexküll’s founding work ("Umwelt und Innenwelt der Tiere" was published in 1909), neurobiologists, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, ethologists, and philosophers revisit his mail concept at the light of modern science "At the beginning of the 20th century, German biologist Jakob von Uexkull created the concept of "Umwelt" to denote the environment as experienced by a subject. This concept of environment differs from the idea of passive surroundings and is defined not just by physical surroundings, but is rather a "subjective universe", a space weighted with meaning. Based on this perspective, a living organism, no matter how basic (such as the tick studied by von Uexkull), created its own universe when it interacts with the world and as this same time the organism reshapes it." "Today, neuroscience provides a new way to look at the brain s capability to create a representation of the world. At the same time behavioural specialists are demonstrating that animals have a richer mental universe than previously known. Philosophical reflection thus finds itself with more experimental and objective data as well. Nearly a century after the publication of von Uexkull s founding work ( "Umwelt und Innenwelt der Tiere" was published in 1909), neurobiologists, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, ethologists, and philosophers revisit his main concept at the light of modern science in this volume." --Book Jacket At the beginning of the 20th century, German biologist Jakob von Uexküll created the concept of "Umwelt" to denote the environment as experienced by a subject. This concept of environment differs from the idea of passive surroundings and is defined not just by physical surroundings, but is rather a "subjective universe", a space weighted with meaning. Based on this perspective, a living organism, no matter how basic (such as the tick studied by von Uexküll), created its own universe when it interacts with the world and as this same time the organism reshapes it. Today, neuroscience provides a new way to look at the brain's capability to create a representation of the world. At the same time behavioural specialists are demonstrating that animals have a richer mental universe than previously known. Philosophical reflection thus finds itself with more experimental and objective data as well. Nearly a century after the publication of von Uexküll's founding work ("Umwelt und Innenwelt der Tiere" was published in 1909), neurobiologists, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, ethologists, and philosophers revisit his mail concept at the light of modern science Anthropological Physiology: Von Uexküll, Portmann, Buytendijk / Anne Fagot-largeault -- Essentialist Reasoning About The Biological World / Susan A. Gelman -- The Human Brain Projects Upon The World, Simplifying Principles And Rules For Perception / Alain Berthoz -- Umwelt: A Psychomotor Functional Event / Rodolfo R. Linas -- The Brain's View Of The World Depends On What It Has To Know / Wolf Singer -- The Biology Of Variations In Mammalian Color Vision / Gerald H. Jacobs -- The Evolution Of Social Categories / Robert M. Seyfarth, Dorothy L. Cheney -- What Is The Effect Of Affect On Bonobo And Chimpanzee Problem Solving? / Brian Hare -- Dogs (canis Familiaris) Are Adapted To Receive Human Communication / Juliane Kaminski -- What Do Jays Know About Other Minds And Other Times? / Nicola S. Clayton, Nathan J. Emery -- Blind As A Bat? The Sensory Basis Of Orientation And Navigation At Night / Richard Holland -- Point, Line And Counterpoint: From Environment To Fluid Space / Tim Ingold. A. Berthoz, Y. Christen, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents......Page 8 Anthropological Physiology: von Uexküll, Portmann, Buytendijk......Page 12 Essentialist Reasoning about the Biological World......Page 17 The Human Brain "Projects" upon the World, Simplifying Principles and Rules for Perception......Page 27 Umwelt: A Psychomotor Functional Event......Page 38 The Brain's View of the World Depends on What it has to Know......Page 47 The Biology of Variations in Mammalian Color Vision......Page 61 The Evolution of Social Categories......Page 77 What is the Effect of Affect on Bonobo and Chimpanzee Problem Solving?......Page 96 Dogs (Canis familiaris) are Adapted to Receive Human Communication......Page 110 What Do Jays Know About Other Minds and Other Times?......Page 115 Blind as a Bat? The Sensory Basis of Orientation and Navigation at Night......Page 130 Point, Line and Counterpoint: From Environment to Fluid Space......Page 145 H......Page 160 V......Page 161 At the beginning of the 20th century, German biologist Jakob von Uexkull created the concept of 'Umwelt' to denote the environment as experienced by a subject. Nearly a century after the publication of von Uexkull's founding work, neurobiologists, psychologists, and philosophers revisit his mail concept at the light of modern science.