A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS "151 •0413 2OV0 Jakob von Uexkiill CARY WOLFE, SERIES EDITOR 12 A Foray into the Worlds of Animals and Humans with A Theory of Meaning Jakob von Uexkiill A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS 11 Insect Media: An Archaeology of Animals and Technology Jussi Parikka OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS 10 Cosmopolitics II Isabelle Stengers 9 Cosmopolitics I miWA THEORY OF MEANING Isabelle Stengers 8 What Is Posthumanism ? Cary Wolfe Translated by Joseph D. O'Neil 7 Political Affect: Connecting the Social and the Somatic John Protevi Introduction by Dorion Sagan 6 Animal Capital: Rendering Life in Biopolitical Times Afterword by Geoffrey Winthr op-Young Nicole Shukin 5 Dorsality: Thinking Back through Technology and Politics posthuman ties 12 David Wills 4 Bios: Biopolitics and Philosophy Roberto Esposito 3 When Species Meet Donna J. Haraway 2 The Poetics of DNA Judith Roof University of Minnesota Press 1 The Parasite Minneapolis • London Michel Serres Jakob von Uexkiill CARY WOLFE, SERIES EDITOR 12 A Foray into the Worlds of Animals and Humans with A Theory of Meaning Jakob von Uexkiill A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS 11 Insect Media: An Archaeology of Animals and Technology Jussi Parikka OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS 10 Cosmopolitics II Isabelle Stengers 9 Cosmopolitics I miWA THEORY OF MEANING Isabelle Stengers 8 What Is Posthumanism ? Cary Wolfe Translated by Joseph D. O'Neil 7 Political Affect: Connecting the Social and the Somatic John Protevi Introduction by Dorion Sagan 6 Animal Capital: Rendering Life in Biopolitical Times Afterword by Geoffrey Winthr op-Young Nicole Shukin 5 Dorsality: Thinking Back through Technology and Politics posthuman ties 12 David Wills 4 Bios: Biopolitics and Philosophy Roberto Esposito 3 When Species Meet Donna J. Haraway 2 The Poetics of DNA Judith Roof University of Minnesota Press 1 The Parasite Minneapolis • London Michel Serres The University of Minnesota Press gratefully acknowledges the generous assistance provided for the publication of this book CONTENTS by the Margaret W. Harmon Fund. Originally published as Streifziige durch die Umwelten von Tieren und Menschen, copyright 1934 Verlag von Julius Springer; and as Bedeutungslehre, copyright 1940 Verlag von J. A. Barth. English translation, Introduction, Translator's Introduction, and Afterword copyright 2010 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota l Introduction Umwelt after Uexkiill Dorion Sagan All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any 35 Translator's Introduction means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 41 Foreword Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520 http://www.upress.umn.edu 44 Introduction Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 53 Environment Spaces Uexkiill, Jakob von, 1864-1944. 63 The Farthest Plane [Streifziige durch die Umwelten von Tieren und Menschen. English] A foray into the worlds of animals and humans ; with, A theory of 70 Perception Time meaning / Jakob von Uexkiill; translated by Joseph D. O'Neil; 73 Simple Environments introduction by Dorion Sagan; afterword by Geoffrey Winthrop- Young.—1st University of Minnesota Press ed. 79 Form and Movement as Perception Marks p. cm.—(Posthumanities series ; v. 12) Includes bibliographical references and index. 86 Goal and Plan ISBN 978-0-8166-5899-2 (he : alk. paper) 92 Perception Image and Effect Image ISBN 978-0-8166-5900-5 (pb : alk. paper) 1. Animal behavior. 2. Psychology, Comparative. 3. Perception. I, Uexkiill, 98 The Familiar Path Jakob von, 1864-1944. Theory of meaning. II. Title. 103 Home and Territory QL751.U413 2010 590.1—dc22 2010026059 108 The Companion Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper H3 Search Image and Search Tone The University of Minnesota is an 119 Magical Environments equal-opportunity educator and employer. 126 The Same Subject as Object in Different Environments 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 10 987654321 133 Conclusion The University of Minnesota Press gratefully acknowledges the generous assistance provided for the publication of this book CONTENTS by the Margaret W. Harmon Fund. Originally published as Streifziige durch die Umwelten von Tieren und Menschen, copyright 1934 Verlag von Julius Springer; and as Bedeutungslehre, copyright 1940 Verlag von J. A. Barth. English translation, Introduction, Translator's Introduction, and Afterword copyright 2010 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota l Introduction Umwelt after Uexkiill Dorion Sagan All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any 35 Translator's Introduction means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 41 Foreword Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520 http://www.upress.umn.edu 44 Introduction Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 53 Environment Spaces Uexkiill, Jakob von, 1864-1944. 63 The Farthest Plane [Streifziige durch die Umwelten von Tieren und Menschen. English] A foray into the worlds of animals and humans ; with, A theory of 70 Perception Time meaning / Jakob von Uexkiill; translated by Joseph D. O'Neil; 73 Simple Environments introduction by Dorion Sagan; afterword by Geoffrey Winthrop- Young.—1st University of Minnesota Press ed. 79 Form and Movement as Perception Marks p. cm.—(Posthumanities series ; v. 12) Includes bibliographical references and index. 86 Goal and Plan ISBN 978-0-8166-5899-2 (he : alk. paper) 92 Perception Image and Effect Image ISBN 978-0-8166-5900-5 (pb : alk. paper) 1. Animal behavior. 2. Psychology, Comparative. 3. Perception. I, Uexkiill, 98 The Familiar Path Jakob von, 1864-1944. Theory of meaning. II. Title. 103 Home and Territory QL751.U413 2010 590.1—dc22 2010026059 108 The Companion Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper H3 Search Image and Search Tone The University of Minnesota is an 119 Magical Environments equal-opportunity educator and employer. 126 The Same Subject as Object in Different Environments 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 10 987654321 133 Conclusion A THEORY OF MEANING INTRODUCTION UMWELT AFTER UEXKOLL 139 Carriers of Meaning 146 Environment and Dwelling-shell Dorion Sagan 150 Utilization of Meaning 157 The Interpretation of the Spider's Web 161 Form Development Rule and Meaning Rule 168 The Meaning Rule as the Bridging of Two Elementary Rules ALTHOUGH LIFE BOTH TRANSFORMS MATTER and processes in­ 171 The Composition Theory of Nature formation, the two are not proportional: the touch of a button 182 The Sufferance of Meaning may ignite a hydrogen bomb, while the combined military ef­ forts of Orwellian nations will fail to make a little girl smile. 185 The Technique of Nature Thus life is not just about matter and how it immediately inter­ 190 Counterpoint as a Motif/Motive of Form Development acts with itself but also how that matter interacts in intercon­ 195 Progress nected systems that include organisms in their separately per­ ceiving worlds—worlds that are necessarily incomplete, even 200 Summary and Conclusion for scientists and philosophers who, like their objects of study, form only a tiny part of the giant, perhaps infinite universe 209 Afterword they observe. Nonetheless, information and matter-energy are Bubbles and Webs: A Backdoor Stroll definitely connected: for example, as I was jogging just now, through the Readings of Uexkiill Geoffrey Winthrop-Young hearing my own breathing, I was reminded to share the crucial fact that the major metabolism that sustains us perceiving ani­ mals is the redox gradient,1 which powers the flow of electrons 244 Notes between the hydrogen-rich carbon compounds of our food and 258 Index the oxygen we take in from the atmosphere, a chemical differ­ ence which itself reminded me, in one of life's circumlocution- ary moments, of its own existence. Once upon a time, says Nietzsche, in a cosmos glitter­ ing forth innumerable solar systems, there was a star "on which clever animals invented knowledge [however] . After nature had drawn a few breaths the star grew cold, and the clever animals had to die." Their knowledge did not preserve their life- form or lead to its longevity but only gave its "owner and pro­ ducer ... [a feeling of great] importance, as if the world pivoted around it. But if we could communicate with the mosquito [some A THEORY OF MEANING INTRODUCTION UMWELT AFTER UEXKOLL 139 Carriers of Meaning 146 Environment and Dwelling-shell Dorion Sagan 150 Utilization of Meaning 157 The Interpretation of the Spider's Web 161 Form Development Rule and Meaning Rule 168 The Meaning Rule as the Bridging of Two Elementary Rules ALTHOUGH LIFE BOTH TRANSFORMS MATTER and processes in­ 171 The Composition Theory of Nature formation, the two are not proportional: the touch of a button 182 The Sufferance of Meaning may ignite a hydrogen bomb, while the combined military ef­ forts of Orwellian nations will fail to make a little girl smile. 185 The Technique of Nature Thus life is not just about matter and how it immediately inter­ 190 Counterpoint as a Motif/Motive of Form Development acts with itself but also how that matter interacts in intercon­ 195 Progress