Publication 2685

Uexküllian phenomenology is derived from the Umwelt theory of the Baltic-German biologist Jakob von Uexküll. Its basic premise is that we can assume the universal existence, in the realm of life, of a genuine first person perspective, i.e., of experienced worlds. This assumption characterises Uexküllian phenomenology and makes it a genuine perspective within phenomenology. In this article I prepare the ground for such a phenomenology by treating the notion of phenomenology, the relation between semiotics and phenomenology, Husserl’s notion of Lebenswelt, and finally the notion of Uexküllian phenomenology. The purpose is to make the case that Uexküllian phenomenology is justified, and to situate it within phenomenological and semiotic thought at large.

Key words: biosemiotics, Jakob von Uexküll, Lebenswelt, Umwelt theory, semiotic phenomenology