The term Umwelt was introduced by the biologist Jakob von Uexküll to refer to the self-centred “world” each organism inhabits, that is the subjective universe of perceptions and actions that is meaningful to that being. An organism’s Umwelt consists of the specific signals it can sense (its Merkwelt or perceptual world) and the range of effects or actions it can perform (its Wirkwelt or effector world). Uexküll illustrated this concept with examples of a variety of creatures that are as if enclosed in a perceptual “soap-bubble” that filters all it can know or do, with each inhabiting unique Umwelten determined by their sensory organs, nervous systems, and behavioural repertoire. Organisms do not passively receive an objective environment but actively select and interpret stimuli according to their biology, effectively constructing their meaningful world. The talk will examine examples of Umwelten across the living world and the Umwelt of the philosopher.
