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8/10/2019 Uexkll - Incurses pelos mundos animais e humanos (trechos, ingls)
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J a k o b v o n U e x k i i l l
F O R Y I N T O T H E W O R L D S
O F N I M L S N D H U M N S
miWA THEORY OF MEANING
T r a n s l a t e d b y J o s e p h D . O ' N e i l
I n t r o d u c t i o n b y D o r i o n Sagan
A f t e r w o r d b y G e o f f r e y Wi nt hr op-Young
posthumanties 12
Un iversi ty of M innes ota Pr ess
Minneapolis London
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F O R Y I N T O T H E W O R L D S
O F N I M L S N D H U M N S
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FOREWORD
THE PRESENT BOOKLET does not claim to serve as the intro-
duct ion to a new sc ience . Rather , i t only conta ins what one
m igh t ca l l t h e desc r ip t ion o f a w a lk in to unk no w n w or lds .
These w or lds a re no t on ly unknow n; they a re a l so inv i s ib l e .
Fur the rm ore , t he jus t i f i ca t ion fo r t he i r ex i s t ence i s den ied by
many zoologis t s and phys io logis t s .
W hi l e th i s a s se r t ion w i l l sound odd to anyone f am i l i a r
wi th those wor lds , i t can be expla ined by the fac t tha t not ev-
eryone has access to those wor lds . Cer ta in convic t ions are able
to ba r t he en t r ance to those w or lds so secure ly tha t no t even
one r ay o f a l l t he sp lendor tha t sp reads ove r them can pen-
e t r a t e i t .
Whoever wants to hold on to the convic t ion tha t a l l l iv ing
th ings a re on ly m ach ines shou ld abandon a l l hope o f g l im ps ing
t h e i r e n v i r o n m e n t s .
W h oever i s no t ye t an a dh er en t of t h e m a ch ine theory of
l iv ing beings might , however , cons ider the fo l lowing. Al l our
u t e n s i l s a n d m a c h i n e s a r e n o m o r e t h a n a i d s f o r h u m a n b e -
ings . Of course there are a ids to producing ef fec ts
[WirAe/t],
which one ca l l s tools [Werkzeuge], a c lass to wh ich a l l l a rg e
machines be long, such as those in our fac tor ies tha t process
n a t u r a l p r o d u c t s a n d f u r t h e r m o r e a ll t r a i n s , a u t o m o b i l e s , a n d
a i rc ra f t . B u t t he re a re a l so a ids to pe rcep t ion [Merken], which
one m igh t ca l l pe rcep t ion too l s [Merkzeuge]: te lescopes ,
eye-
glasses , microphones , radio devices , and so on.
F r o m t h i s o n e c a n r e a d i l y a s s u m e t h a t a n a n i m a l i s
no th i ng m o re th a n a se l ec t ion of su i t a b l e e f fec t- too l s an d
a
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42
A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
percep t ion- too l s , w h ich a re bound up in to a w ho le by a con t ro l
d e v i c e w h i c h , t h o u g h i t r e m a i n s a m a c h i n e , i s n o n e t h e l e s s
su i t a b le fo r exe rc i s ing th e v i t a l func t ion s o f an an im a l . Th i s
i s i n f ac t t h e v i ew of a l l m ac h in e theo r i s t s , w h e t h e r th ey a r e
th in k i ng of r ig id m ech an ics o r f lex ib le d yn am ics . A n i m al s
a re m ade the reby in to pure ob jec t s . In so do ing , one fo rge t s
t h a t o n e h a s fr om t h e o u t s e t s u p p r e s s e d t h e p r i n c i p a l f a c to r ,
n a m e l y t h e subject w ho us es th es e a ids , w h o a f fec ts an d pe r -
c e i v e s w i t h t h e m .
B y m ea ns o f t he im p oss ib l e con s t ruc t ion of a com bined
effec t -percept ion tool , i t i s not only in the case of animals tha t
one h as s t i t ched toge the r th e sen sory and m otor o rg an s l i ke
m a c h i n e p a r t s ( w i t h o u t t a k i n g i n t o a c c o u n t t h e i r p e r c e p t i v e
an d effective funct ion s) . O ne h a s also gon e so far as to m ech a-
n ize hum an be ings . A ccord ing to the behav io r i s t s , ou r sens ib i l -
i t y an d our w i l l a r e m ere ap pe a ra nc e . In th e bes t case , t he y a re
to be va lu ed on ly a s ba ck gro un d no i se .
W h o e v e r stiU h o l d s t h e v i e w t h a t o u r s e n s o r y o r g a n s
se rve pe rcep t ion and our m otor o rg an s se rve th e p ro duc t io n
of effects wHl a l so no t see in an im a l s s im p ly a m e cha n ica l a s -
semblage; they wi l l a l so d iscover th
.
tf t
3 7 3 6 4 9 0 0 1 3 7 36 4 9 2 7 8 6 5 0 4 7 7 4 93 9 0 0 1 0 5 1 BT 0 3 1 16 T cf 6 4 9 0 38 9 T 2 1 2 7 8 6 5 0 4 7 7 BT 9 9 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 4 3 3 8 2 7 1 4 4T mT T 1 1 T f T E T Q q 1 3 7 3 1 8 0 p 1 8 0 JE 3 7 9 9 T 2 1 2 7 8 6 5 04 7 7 y T E T Q q 1 3 7 3 6 4 9 0 0 1 3 7 3 6 49 2 7 8 6 5 0 4 7 7 4 9 3 1 9 0 0 1 0 3 7 3 BT 0 3 11 6 T c2 7 0 1 3 9 T 2 1 2 7 8 6 5 0 4 7 7 1 T f 6 4 97 7 T 3 6 4 T JE T Q q 1 3 7 3 64 9 0 0 1 3 7 3 6 4 9 2 7 8 6 50 4 7 7 4 9 3 17 c1 8 0 p 1 8 0 0 2 2 3 1 7 9 T 2 1 3 0 1 0 1 0 4 7 6 3 3
no
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FOREWORD
We begin such a s t ro l l on a sunny day before a f lower-
ing me ado w in wh ich ins ec ts bu zz an d but te r f l ies flu tte r, an d
w e m a ke a bub b le a ro un d eac h of t h e an im a l s l i v ing in th e
m e a d o w . T h e b u b b l e r e p r e s e n t s e a c h a n i m a l ' s e n v i r o n m e n t
and con ta ins a l l t he f ea tu res access ib l e to the sub jec t . A s soon
a s w e e n t e r i n t o o n e s u c h b u b b l e , t h e p r e v i o u s s u r r o u n d i n g s
of the subjec t a re comple te ly reconf igured. Many qual i t ies of
the co lo r fu l m eadow van i sh com ple te ly , o the r s
lose
the i r coher -
ence w i th one ano the r , and new connec t ions a re c rea t ed . A new
w or ld a r i ses in each bubb le .
Th e r ea de r of t h i s t r av e log ue i s ca l led upo n to com e a lon g
a s w e w a n d e r t h r o u g h t h e s e w o r l d s . T h e a u t h o r s h a v e s p l i t u p
the i r t a sks in such a w ay tha t one (U exku l l ) w ro te the t ex t and
the o the r (K r i sza t ) w as r e spons ib l e fo r i l l u s t r a t ions .
We hope tha t , wi th th is t ravelogue, we wi l l t ake a deci -
s ive s t ep fo rw ards and conv ince m any reade r s tha t such env i -
ronments exis t and tha t a new, inf in i te ly r ich f ie ld of research
i s open ing up . A t the sam e t im e , t h i s book shou ld a t t e s t t o the
sp i r i t of r e s ea rch sh a r ed by th e co l l eagues a t t h e In s t i t u t e fo r
E n v i r o n m e n t a l R e s e a r c h i n H a m b u r g .
1
We owe a specia l debt of gra t i tude to Dr . K . Lorenz ,
w h o g r e a t l y a d v a n c e d o u r w o r k b y p r o v i d i n g t h e i m a g e s t h a t
docum ent h i s r i ch exper i ence w i th j ackdaw s and s t a r l ings .
Pro fesso r Egger s k ind ly sen t us a t ho rough repor t on h i s ex -
p e r i m e n t s w i t h n o c t u r n a l b u t t e r f l i e s . T h e w e l l - k n o w n w a t e r -
co lor is t F ra n z H u th c re a t e d th e im ag es of t he room an d th e
oak . F ig ure s 42 an d 55 w ere c rea t ed by Th . von U ex ku l l . W e
w ould l i ke to exp ress our he a r t f e l t g r a t i t ud e to a l l of t he m .
J A K O B V O N U E X K U L L
Hamburg,
December
1933
43
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INTRODUCTION
ANY COUNTRY DWELLER who traverses woods and bush with
h i s dog ha s ce r t a in ly becom e ac qu a in ted w i th a l i t t l e a n im a l
who l ies in wai t on the branches of the bushes for h is prey , be
i t human or animal , in order to d ive onto h is v ic t im and suck
him self ful l of i ts blood. In so doing , th e one- to
two-millimeter-
l a rge animal swel l s to the s ize of a pea (Figure 1) .
A l though no t dangerous , t he t i ck i s ce r t a in ly an unw el -
com e gues t t o hum ans and o the r m am m als . I t s l i f e cyc le has
been s tud ied in such de ta i l i n
recen t w ork tha t w e can c rea t e a
vi r tua l ly comple te p ic ture of i t .
O ut of th e egg cra wl s a n ot
yet fu l ly developed l i t t le animal ,
s t i l l m iss ing one pa i r of legs as
wel l as geni ta l organs . Even in
th i s s t a t e , i t can a l r eady am -
bush co ld -b looded an im a l s such
as l izards, for which i t l ies in
wait on the t ip of a blade of
gra ss . Af ter m an y mo l t ings , i t
ha s acqu i re d th e o rg an s i t l acked an d can now go on i t s qu es t
fo r w arm -b looded c rea tu res . O nce the f em ale has copu la t ed ,
s h e cfimbs with her ful l count of eight legs to the t ip of a pro-
t ru d i ng b r an ch o f an y sh ru b in o rde r e i the r t o f a ll on to sm a l l
m a m m a l s w h o r u n b y u n d e r n e a t h o r t o l e t h e r s e l f b e b r u s h e d
off the branch by large ones . The eyeless crea ture f inds the
way to i t s lookout wi th the he lp of a genera l sens i t iv i ty to l ight
FIGURE 1. Tick
44
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INTRODUCTION
i n the sk in . The b l ind and dea f band i t becom es aw are o f t he
approach of i t s prey through the sense of smel l . The odor of
butyr ic ac id , which i s g iven of f by the sk in g lands of a l l mam-
mals , g ives the t ick the s ignal to leave i t s watch pos t and leap
off . I f i t then fal ls onto something warmwhich i ts f ine sense
o f t e m p e r a t u r e w i l l t e l l itthen i t has r eached i t s p rey , t he
w arm -b lood ed an im a l , an d ne eds on ly us e i t s s ens e of t ouch to
find a spot as free of hair as possible in order to bore past i ts
ow n hea d in to the sk in t i s su e of t he p rey . N ow , the t i ck p um ps
a s t re am of w ar m blood s lowly in to i t se lf .
E x p e r i m e n t s w i t h ar ti fi c ia l m e m b r a n e s a n d l iq u i d s o t h e r
than b lood have dem ons t ra t ed tha t t he t i ck has no sense o f
t a s t e , fo r, a f t e r bor ing th ro ug h the m e m bra ne , it t ak es in any
l iqu id , so long as i t has the r igh t t em pera tu re .
If , af ter sensing the butyric acid smell , the t ick fal ls onto
som eth ing co ld , t hen i t has m issed i t s p rey and m us t c l im b
back up to i t s lookout pos t .
The t ick ' s hear ty b lood meal i s a l so i t s las t meal , for i t
now ha s not hin g mo re to do th a n fa ll to th e groun d, lay i t s eggs ,
and die.
T he clea rly kn ow n li fe pro ces ses of th e t ick afford u s a
su i t ab le c r i t e r ion in o rde r to dem ons t ra t e the soundness o f t he
biologica l poin t of v iew as opposed to th e previo us ly com mo n
physio logica l t r ea tm e n t of th e subjec t . For th e phy s io logis t ,
every l iv ing th ing i s an objec t tha t i s loca ted in h is human
w or ld . H e inves t iga t e s the o rgans o f l i v ing th ings and the w ay
they w ork toge the r jus t a s a t echn ic i an w ould exam ine an un-
fam i l i a r m ach ine . The b io log i s t , on the o the r hand , t akes in to
account tha t each and every l iv ing th ing i s a subjec t tha t l ives
in i t s own wor ld , of which i t i s the center . I t cannot , therefore ,
be com pared to a m ach ine , on ly to the m ach ine ope ra to r w ho
gu ides the m ach ine .
W e ask a s im ple ques t ion : I s t he t i ck a m ach ine o r a m a-
chine opera tor? Is i t a mere objec t or a subjec t?
Physio logy declares the t ick to be a machine and says
45
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46 A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
t ha t one can d i f f e ren t i a t e r ecep to r s , i . e . , s ensory o rgans , and
effec tors , i . e . , ac t iv i ty organs , in the t ick . These are connected
w i t h o n e a n o t h e r t h r o u g h a c o n t r o l a p p a r a t u s i n t h e c e n t r a l
ne rvous sys t em . The w hole th ing i s a m ach ine , w i th no t r ace o f
a m a c h i n e o p e r a t o r .
"Exac t ly the re in l i e s t he m is t ake , " says the b io log i s t .
"N ot one pa r t of t he t i ck ' s body h a s the ch a r ac te r o f a m ach ine .
Th ere a r e m ac h in e op e ra to r s a t w ork a l l ove r th e p l ace ."
The phys io log i s t w i l l con t inue unper tu rbed : "Prec i se ly
in the t ick , i t can be shown tha t a l l ac t ions depend sole ly on
reflexes,
2
an d th e ref lex arc forms th e fou nda t ion of eve ry ani -
m al ma ch ine (F igur e 2). I t be gin s w i th a rece ptor , i . e ., w i th an
a p p a r a t u s t h a t a d m i t s o n l y c e r t a i n e x t e r n a l i n f lu e n c e s , s u c h a s
b u t y r i c a c i d a n d h e a t , a n d d i s r e g a r d s a l l o t h e r s .
"The a rc ends w i th a m usc le w hich se t s an e f f ec to r i n to
m o t i o n , w h e t h e r t h i s i s t h e a p p a r a t u s f o r l o c o m o t i o n o r f o r
bor ing .
"The sensory ce l l s , w h ich ac t iva t e sensory s t im ula t ion ,
and the m otor ce l l s , w h ich ac t iva t e the m ovem ent im pul se ,
a re on ly connec to r s w hich t r ansm i t t he com ple te ly phys ica l
w aves o f exc i t a t ion , p roduced
\ f \ ( j X by th e r ecep to r i n th e ne rve s in
D 77 \i7 r
r e s p o n s e t o a n e x t e r n a l i m p u l s e ,
FIGURE 2. Reflex
arc:
receptor,
sensory
cell,
motor
cell,
effector
r e s p o n s e
to the muscles of the effector .
The whole ref lex arc works wi th
the t r ans fe r o f m ot ion , j us t l i ke
any m ach ine . N o sub jec t ive f ac to r , a s one o r m ore m ach ine op-
e r a t o r s w o u ld be , i s a p p a r e n t a n y w h e r e . "
"Exact ly the oppos i te i s the case , " the b io logis t wi l l reply .
"Everyw here , i t i s a case o f m ach ine ope ra to r s and no t o f m a-
chin e p ar t s , for a l l th e ind iv id ua l ce l ls of th e ref lex a rc ac t by
t r ans fe r o f s t im ul i , no t by t r ans fe r o f m ovem ent . B u t a s t im u-
lus has to be noticed [gemerkt] by th e subjec t an d does no t ap-
pear at al l in objects ."
Any machine par t , for example the c lapper of a be l l , only
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INTRODUCTION
H
op era t e s in a m a ch ine - l ike m an ne r if i t i s sw un g bac k an d fo r th
in a ce r ta in way. Al l o t he r in t erv en t io ns , such as , for ex am ple ,
cold , hea t , ac ids , a lka l i s , e lec t r ica l cur rents , i t responds to as
any o the r p i ece o f m e ta l w ou ld . B u t w e know s ince Johannes
Mii l le r ,
3
however , tha t a muscle behaves in a comple te ly d i f fer -
en t w ay . I t r e sponds to a l l ex te rna l i n t e rven t ions in the sam e
w a y : b y c o n t r a c t i n g . A n y e x t e r n a l i n t e r v e n t i o n i s t r a n s f o r m e d
b y t h e m u s c l e i n t o t h e s a m e s t i m u l u s a n d r e s p o n d e d t o w i t h
the same impulse , by which i t s body of ce l l s i s made to con-
t r a c t . Jo h an ne s Mi i l l e r show ed fu r th e r t h a t a l l ex te rn a l e ff ec ts
tha t h i t ou r op t i c ne rve , w he the r these a re w aves in the e the r ,
p res su re , o r e l ec t r i c cu r ren t s , cause the sensa t ion o f l i gh t , i . e . ,
ou r s igh t - sense ce l l s answ er w i th the sam e "pe rcep t ion s ign"
[ Merkzeichen ].
4
From th is , we can conclude tha t every l iv ing ce l l i s a
m a c h i n e o p e r a t o r t h a t p e r c e i v e s a n d p r o d u c e s a n d t h e r e f o r e
possesses i t s own par t icular ( speci f ic ) percept ive s igns and im-
pulses or "effect s igns" [ Wirkzeichen ]. Th e com plex pe rcep t ion
an d pro du ct io n of e ffects in every an im al subjec t can th er eb y
be a t t r ibu ted to the coopera t ion o f sm a l l cellular-machine op-
era tors , each one possess ing only one percept ive and one ef fec-
t ive s ign.
In o rde r to m ake an o rde r ly coopera t ion poss ib l e , t he o r -
g a n i s m u s e s b r a i n c e l l s ( w h i c h a r e a l s o e l e m e n t a r y m a c h i n e
opera to r s ) , g rou p ing ha l f of t h em in
differently-sized
g roups
of "perc ept io n ce l ls" in the p ar t of th e b ra in th a t i s a f fec ted
by s t im ul i , t he "pe rcep t ion o rgan . " These g roups co r respond
to ex te r na l g rou ps of s t im u l i , w h ich p re sen t t hem se lv es to the
an im al sub jec t i n th e fo rm of qu es t io ns . The o rgan i sm u ses th e
other half of the brain cel ls as "effect cel ls" or impulse cel ls
and a r ra ng es th em in g roup s by m ea ns of w hich i t con t ro l s t he
m o vem ent s of t he e ff ec to r s, w h ich im pa r t t he an im a l sub jec t ' s
an sw ers to th e ou t s id e w or ld . Th e g rou ps of pe rcep t ion
ceUs
fill
up the "percept ion organs" of the bra in , and the groups of e f fec t
cel ls form th e "effect org an s" of th e br ai n.
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48
A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND
HUMANS
If w e m ay , on th i s ac coun t , im ag ine a pe rcep t ion o rg an
as the s i t e of cha ng in g g rou ps of t he se ce l l -m ach ine ope ra to r s ,
wh ich ar e th e ca r r ie rs of d i f ferent pe rcep t ive s igns , th ey ar e
s t i l l spa t i a l ly sepa ra t ed ind iv idua l s . The i r pe rcep t ive s igns
would remain i so la ted i f i t were not poss ib le for them to co-
a lesce in to new uni t s outs ide the spat ia l ly f ixed percept ion
org an . Th is poss ib i l i ty i s in fac t pres en t . The pe rcep t ive s ig ns of
a g rou p of pe rcep t ion ce l ls com e tog e th e r ou t s id e the pe rce p t ion
organ , i ndeed ou t s ide the an im a l ' s body , i n un i t s t ha t becom e
qual i t ies of the objec t tha t l ie outs ide the animal subjec t . We
are a l l qu i t e f am i l i a r w i th th i s f act . A l l ou r hu m a n sen sa t ion s ,
wh ich re pr es en t ou r specif ic perce pt io n s igns , jo in tog eth er to
fo rm th e qua l i t i e s of t he ex te rn a l t h in gs w hich se rve us a s pe r -
cep t ion m arks fo r our ac t ions . The sensa t ion "b lue" becom es
th e "b lueness" of t h e sky , t h e sen sa t io n "g reen" becom es th e
"gr een ne ss" of th e law n, an d so for th . We recogn ize th e sky by
th e f ea tu re "b lue" an d the l aw n by the f ea tu r e "g reen ."
Exac t ly the sam e th ing t akes p l ace in the e f f ec t o rgan .
He re , th e ef fect ce l ls p lay the ro le of th e e le m en ta ry m ac hi ne
o p e r a t o r s , w h i c h in t h i s c a s e a r e a r r a n g e d i n t o well-articulated
groups according to the i r impulse or product ive s ign . Here , too ,
i t i s poss ib le to group the i so la ted ef fec t s igns in to uni t s tha t ,
i n th e fo rm of se l f -con ta ined m otor im p ul se s o r rhy thm ica l l y
ar ra ng ed m elodies of im puls es , produc e ef fec ts in th e m usc les
subjec t to them. At th is , the ef fec tors ac t iva ted by the muscles
impress the i r "ef fec t mark" [ Wirkmal ] on th e objec ts th a t l ie
outs ide the subjec t .
T he ef fect m a rk th a t th e ef fec tors of th e subjec t im p ar t
to the ob jec t i s im m edia t e ly r ecogn izab le , j u s t l i ke the w ound
w hich the t i ck ' s
mouthparts
inf l ic t upo n the sk in of th e m am -
m al on w hich i t has l anded . B u t on ly the l abor ious sea rch fo r
the f ea tu res o f bu ty r i c ac id an d w a rm th com ple tes th e p i c tu re
of th e t ick as ac t ive in i t s en vi r on m en t .
F igura t ive ly speak ing , eve ry an im a l sub jec t a t t acks i t s
objec ts in a p incer
movementwith
one pe rcep t ive and one e f -
P
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INTRODUCTION
fec t ive arm. With the f i r s t , i t impar ts each objec t a percept ion
m a r k [Merkmal] an d w i th th e second an eff ec t m ar k . C er t a in
qu al i t ies of th e object becom e th ere by ca r r i er s of perc ept io n
marks and o thers car r ie rs of e f fec t marks . Since a l l qual i t ies of
an ob jec t a re connec ted w i th each o the r t h rough the s t ruc tu re
of th e object , th e qua l i t ie s af fec ted by th e ef fect m ar k m us t
exe r t t he i r i n f luence th rough the ob jec t upon the qua l i t i e s t ha t
a r e c a r r i e r s of t h e p e r c e p t i o n m a r k a n d h a v e a t r a n s f o r m a t i v e
e f fec t on the pe rcep t ion m ark i t s e l f . O ne can bes t sum th i s up
th i s w ay : The e f fec t m ark ex t ingu i shes the pe rcep t ion m ark .
In add i t ion to the se l ec t ion o f s t im ul i t ha t t he r ecep to r s
a l low to pass and the order of muscles which g ive the ef fec-
tors cer ta in potent ia l s for ac t iv i ty , the decis ive fac tors for any
ac t ion by eve ry an im a l sub jec t a re above a l l t he num ber and
order of percept ion ce l l s tha t d is t inguish the objec ts of the en-
v i ronm ent by as s ign ing them fea tu res w i th the he lp o f t he i r
perc ept io n s igns , an d the nu m b er a nd ord er of th e effec t ce l l s
tha t fu rn i sh the sam e ob jec t s w i th e f f ec t m arks .
The objec t only takes par t in th is ac t ion to the extent tha t
i t must possess the necessary proper t ies , which can serve on the
one hand as fea ture car r ie rs and, on the o ther , as e f fec t s ign
ca r r i e r s , and w hich m us t
perception word be in conta c t wi th each
other through a rec iprocal
s t r u c t u r e .
The connect ion of
subject to object can be
most c lear ly expla ined by
th e sche ma of th e func-
t ional cycle (Figure 3) .
The schem a show s how
subjec t and objec t a re
in t e rconnec ted w i th each
o the r and fo rm an o rde r ly w hole . I f one fu r the r im ag ines tha t
subjects are l inked to the same object or different ones by
mul-
49
Percepon organ
Counersrucure
Effect organ
Recepor
Percepon-mark carrer
Couner
structure
Eec-mark carrer
FIGURE 3. Functional cycle
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50 A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
tiple
funct ional cycles , one can the reb y gain ins igh t in to th e fun-
da m en ta l p r inc ip l e of t he sc ience of t he e nv i ro nm ent : A ll a n im a l
subjec ts , f rom the s imples t to the most complex, a re inser ted
in to the i r env i r onm ent s to the sa m e degree of pe r fec t ion . Th e
s im ple an im a l has a s im ple env i ronm ent ; t he m ul t i fo rm an im al
has an envi ronment jus t as r ichly ar t icula ted as i t i s .
Now, le t us p lace the t ick in to the funct ional cycle as
a sub jec t and the m am m al a s i t s ob jec t . I t i s s een tha t t h ree
funct ional cycles take p lace , according to p lan , one af ter the
o t h e r . T h e m a m m a l ' s s k i n g l a n d s c o m p r i s e t h e f e a t u r e c a r r i e r s
of th e f irst cycle, s inc e th e s t i m u lu s of th e bu ty ric acid s et s off
ce r t a in pe rcep t ion s igns in the [ t i ck ' s ] pe rcep t ion o rgan , and
the se s igns a re t r a ns po sed o u tw ard as o l fac to ry f ea tu res . Th e
processes in the pe rcep t ion o rgan b r ing abou t co r respond ing
im p ul se s by indu c t ion (w e do no t know w ha t t h a t is ) i n t he
[ t ick ' s ] e f fec t organ which then br ing about the re leas ing of
the l egs and f a l l i ng . The f a l l i ng t i ck im par t s t o the m am m al ' s
ha i rs , on which i t l ands , the ef fec t mark "col l i s ion ," which then
ac t iva t es a t ac t i l e f ea tu re w hich , i n i t s t u rn , ex t ingu i shes the
o l fac to ry f ea tu re "bu ty r i c ac id . " The new fea tu re ac t iva t e s the
t i ck ' s ru n n i n g abou t , un t i l t h i s f ea tu re i s i n tu rn ex t in gu i s hed
a t t he first b a r e pa tch o f sk in by th e f ea tu re " w arm th , " an d the
dr i l l ing can begin .
This i s no doubt a case of three ref lexes , each of which
i s r ep laced by the nex t and w hich a re ac t iva t ed by ob jec t ive ly
ident i f iable phys ica l or chemical e f fec ts . But whoever i s sa t -
i s f i ed w i th tha t obse rva t ion , and as sum es he has the re fo re
so lved the p rob lem , on ly p roves tha t he has no t seen the r ea l
pro blem a t a l l . I t is not a qu es t ion of th e chem ical s t im ul u s of
th e bu ty r i c ac id an y m ore th a n i t i s of t he m ech an ic a l s t im ulu s
(ac t iva t ed by the ha i r ) o r o f t he the rm al s t im ulus o f t he sk in .
I t i s only a ques t ion of the fac t tha t , among the hundreds of e f -
f ec ts t h a t e m a n a t e fro m t h e m a m m a l ' s b o dy , o n ly t h r e e b e c o m e
fea tu re ca r r i e r s fo r t he t i ck . W hy these th ree and no o the r s?
I t i s not a ques t ion of a contes t of s t rength be tween two
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INTRODUCTION
51
objects but , ra th er , of th e connect ion be tw een a liv ing subjec t
and i ts object . These take place at an ent irely different level :
be tween the subjec t ' s percept ion s igns and the objec t ' s s t imulus .
The t ick hangs iner t on the t ip of a branch in a fores t
c l ea r ing . I t s pos i t i on a l low s i t t o f a l l on to a m am m al runn ing
p a s t . F r o m i t s e n t i r e e n v i r o n m e n t , n o s t i m u l u s p e n e t r a t e s t h e
t i ck . B u t he re com es a m am m al , w h ich the t i ck needs fo r t he
product ion of of fspr ing .
And now something miraculous happens . Of a l l the ef fec ts
em ana t ing f rom the m am m al ' s body , on ly th ree becom e s t im ul i ,
and then on ly in a ce r t a in sequence . F rom the enorm ous w or ld
surrounding the t ick , three s t imul i g low l ike s ignal l ights in the
da rkn ess an d se rve a s d i rec t iona l s igns tha t l ead the t ick su re ly
to i t s ta rge t . In order to make th is poss ib le , the t ick has been
given, beyon d i t s body 's recep tors an d effec tors, th re e perce pt ion
s igns , which i t can use as fea tures . Through these fea tures , the
prog ress ion of th e t ick ' s ac t ions i s so s t r ic t ly prescr ibed t h a t th e
t ick can only produce very de terminate ef fec t marks .
The w hole r i ch w or ld su r round ing the t i ck i s cons t r i c t ed
a n d t r a n s f o r m e d i n t o a n i m p o v e r i s h e d s t r u c t u r e t h a t , m o s t
im po r t a n t l y o f a l l, con s i s t s on ly o f t h re e f ea tu r es an d th re e e f-
fect marksthe t i ck ' s env i ronm ent . H ow ever , t he pover ty o f
th i s en v i r on m en t i s needfu l fo r t he ce r t a in ty of ac t ion , an d ce r -
t a i n t y is m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n r i ch e s .
A s one can see, t h e fu nd am en ta l a sp ec t s of t h e s t r uc tu re
of th e env i ro nm en t s th a t a re va l id fo r a l l an im a l s can be de -
r ived f rom t h e exa m ple of th e t ick . B ut the t ick h a s one m ore
r e m a r k a b l e c a p a b i l i t y t h a t a l l o w s u s a g r e a t e r i n s i g h t i n t o e n -
v i r o n m e n t s .
I t i s im m edia t e ly ev iden t t ha t t he happy occas ion tha t
b r i n g s a m a m m a l to p a s s b e n e a t h t h e b r a n c h o n w h i c h t h e t ic k
s i t s occur s m os t se ldom . Eve n the g rea t nu m be r of t i cks ly ing
in w a i t i n the bush does no t com pensa te fo r t h i s d i sadvan tage
in suc h a wa y as to sec ure th e repro du ct io n of th e species . In
orde r to inc rease the p robab i l i t y tha t i t s p rey w i l l pass by , t he
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FT
02 A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
t i ck m us t be capab le of l i v ing a long t im e w i tho u t no ur i sh m en t .
A nd the t i ck i s capab le o f t h i s t o an unusua l degree . A t the
Zoo log ica l Ins t i t u t e in R os tock , t hey kep t t i cks a l ive tha t had
gone hungry fo r e igh teen yea r s .
6
The t i ck can w a i t e igh teen
y e a r s ; w e h u m a n s c a n n o t . O u r h u m a n t i m e c o n s i s t s of a s e-
r i e s o f m om ent s , i . e . , t he shor t e s t s egm ent s o f t im e in w hich
the w or ld exh ib i t s no cha ng es . For a m om en t ' s du ra t ion , t he
w o r l d s t a n d s st il l. A h u m a n m o m e n t l a s t s o n e - e i g h t e e n t h of
a second.
6
W e sha l l s ee l a t e r t h a t t h e dur a t io n of a m o m en t i s
d i ff e ren t i n d i f fe ren t an im a l s , bu t , no m a t t e r w h a t num be r w e
ass ign to the t ick , i t i s s imply imposs ib le for an animal to en-
d u r e a n u n c h a n g i n g e n v i r o n m e n t f o r e i g h t e e n y e a r s . W e s h a l l
the re fo re a s sum e tha t t he t i ck i s , du r ing i t s w a i t ing pe r iod , i n
a s t a t e s i m i l a r t o s l ee p , w h i c h a l so i n t e r r u p t s o u r h u m a n t i m e
for hours . But t ime s tands s t i l l in the t ick ' s wai t ing per iod not
jus t fo r hour s bu t fo r yea r s , and i t s t a r t s aga in on ly w hen the
s igna l "bu ty r i c ac id" aw akens the t i ck to r enew ed ac t iv i ty .
W h a t h a v e w e g a i n e d b y t h i s k n o w l e d g e ? S o m e t h i n g
very s igni f icant . Time, which f rames a l l events , seemed to us to
be the only objec t ive ly cons is tent fac tor , compared to the var -
i ega ted ch ang es of i t s con ten t s , bu t now w e see th a t t he sub-
jec t cont ro ls the t ime of i t s envi ronment . Whi le we sa id before ,
"There can be no l iv ing subjec t wi thout t ime," now we shal l
have to say , "Without a l iv ing subjec t , there can be no t ime."
W e sha l l s ee in the nex t chap te r t ha t t he sam e i s t rue o f
space : W i thou t a l i v ing sub jec t , t he re can be ne i the r space nor
t ime. With th is observat ion , b io logy has once and for a l l con-
nected wi th Kant ' s phi losophy, which b io logy wi l l now ut i l ize
t h r o u g h t h e n a t u r a l s c i e n c e s b y e m p h a s i z i n g t h e d e c i s i v e r o l e
of th e sub ject .
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FT
ENVRONMENT SPACES
53
ENVIRONMENT SP CES
JUST AS A GOURMET pic ks on ly th e r a is in s ou t of t h e ca ke , th e
t i ck on ly d i s t ingu i shes bu ty r i c ac id f rom am ong the th ings in
i t s s u r r o u n d i n g s . W e a r e n o t i n t e r e s t e d i n w h a t t a s t e s e n s a -
t ions the r a i s ins p roduce in the gourm et bu t on ly in the f ac t
t h a t t h e y b e c o m e p e r c e p t i o n m a r k s of h i s e n v i r o n m e n t b e c a u s e
th ey a re of spe cial biological s ignif ican ce for him ; w e also do no t
ask how th e bu ty r i c ac id t a s t e s o r sm e l l s t o th e t ick , bu t r a the r ,
we only regis ter the fac t tha t butyr ic ac id , as b io logica l ly s ig-
ni f icant , becomes a percept ion mark for the t ick .
W e con ten t our se lves w i th the obse rva t ion tha t pe rcep-
t ion ce l l s must be present in the percept ion organ of the t ick
th a t sen d ou t t he i r pe rcep t ion s igns , j u s t a s w e as su m e t he
sa m e for th e pe rcep t ion or ga ns of th e gou rm et . The only dif -
f e rence i s t ha t t he t i ck ' s pe rcep t ion s igns t r ans fo rm the bu-
ty r i c ac id s t im ulu s in to a pe rce p t ion m ar k of i t s env i ron m e nt ,
w h e r e a s t h e g o u r m e t ' s p e r c e p t i o n s i g n s i n h i s e n v i r o n m e n t
t r a n s f o r m t h e r a i s i n s t i m u l u s i n t o a p e r c e p t i o n m a r k .
The an im a l ' s env i ronm ent , w h ich w e w an t to inves t iga t e
now, is only a piece cut out of i ts surroundings, which we see
s t re tching out on a l l s ides around the
animaland
these su r -
round ings a re no th ing e l se bu t our ow n, hum an env i ronm ent .
The f irs t tas k of res ea rch on such env i ro nm en ts cons is t s in seek-
ing out the animal ' s percept ion s igns and, wi th them, to con-
s t ruc t t he an im a l ' s env i ronm ent . The pe rcep t ion s ign o f r a i s ins
does nothing for the t ick , whi le the percept ion mark of butyr ic
ac id p lays an except ional ro le in i t s envi ronment . In the gour-
met ' s envi ronment , on the o ther hand, the accent of s igni f icance
faUs
not on butyr ic ac id , but on the percept ion mark of ra i s ins .
Eve ry sub jec t sp ins ou t , l i ke th e sp ide r ' s t h re ad s , i t s r e l a -
t ions to ce r t a in qu a l i t i e s of t h ing s an d w eav es the m in to a sol id
web, which car r ies i t s exis tence .
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54
A FORAY-NTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
T he re la t io ns of th e subjec t to th e objec ts of i t s su r ro un d-
ings , w ha tev e r the na tu re of t he se r e l a t ion s m ay be, p l ay th em -
se lves ou t ou t s ide the sub jec t , i n the ve ry p l ace w here w e have
to look fo r t he pe rc ep t ion m ark s . Pe rce p t ion s igns a re the re fo re
*
a lw ays spa t i a l ly bound , and , s ince they t ake p l ace in a ce r t a in
sequence , t hey a re a l so t em pora l ly bound .
We comfor t ourse lves a l l too eas i ly wi th the i l lus ion tha t
the re la t ions of another k ind of subjec t to the th ings of i t s en-
v i ronm ent p l ay ou t i n the sam e space and t im e as the r e l a t ions
t h a t l i n k u s t o t h e t h i n g s of o u r h u m a n e n v i r o n m e n t . T h i s il-
lus ion i s fed by the be l ief in the exis tence of one and only one
w or ld , i n w hich a l l l i v ing be ings a re encased . F rom th i s a r i ses
the w ide ly he ld conv ic t ion tha t t he re m us t be one and on ly one
space and t ime for a l l l iv ing be ings . Only recent ly have phys-
i c i s t s r a i sed doub t s a s to the ex i s t ence o f one un ive r se w i th
one space va l id for a l l be ings . That there can be no such space
com es a l r e ad y of t h e f act t h a t eve ry h u m a n be ing lives in t h r ee
s p a c e s , w h i c h i n t e r p e n e t r a t e a n d c o m p l e t e b u t a l s o p a r t i a l l y
con t rad ic t each o the r .
E f f e c t S p a c e
W hen w e c lose our eyes and m ove our l im bs , t hese m ovem ent s
a re know n exac t ly by us in the i r d i r ec t ion and the i r ex tens ion .
U s ing our hand , w e f ind our w ay in a space tha t one can des -
ignate the f ree space of our movements , or , in o ther words , our
effect space [Wirkraum]. W e m e a s u r e t h e s e p a t h s o u t i n t h e
shor tes t s teps , which we wi l l ca l l d i rec t ional s teps , s ince the
d i rec t ion of each an d eve ry s t ep i s kn ow n exac t ly to u s th r ou gh
the sensa t ion o f d i r ec t ion o r directional sign. W e d i s t i n g u i s h
s ix d i rec t ions , in pa i rs of oppos i tes : to the le f t and to the r ight ,
u p w a r d a n d d o w n w a r d , f o r w a r d a n d b a c k w a r d .
T h o r o u g h e x p e r i m e n t s h a v e s h o w n t h a t t h e s m a l l e s t
s tep we can execute , as measured by the index f inger of the
o u t s t r e t c h e d a r m , is a p p r o x i m a t e l y t w o c e n t i m e t e r s i n l e n g th .
A s one can see , t hese s t eps cons t i t u t e no p rec i se m easurem ent
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ENVRONMENT SPACES
of the space in w hich they a re execu ted . A nyone can conv ince
himsel f of th is imprecis ion i f he a t tempts , wi th c losed eyes , to
m ak e h is f ingertips m ee t . He wou ld see th a t th is ge ner a l ly fa i ls
an d th a t th e fingertips m iss eac h o t he r by a d is tan ce of u p to
t w o c e n t i m e t e r s .
I t i s of th e u tm o st s igni f icance for us th a t we can re ta in
these pa ths , once execu ted , ve ry eas i ly in our m em ory , w hich
makes i t poss ib le to wr i te in the dark . This sk i l l i s ca l led "kin-
e s t h e s i a , " w h i c h a d d s n o t h i n g n e w .
Ho we ver , e ffec t sp ace i s no t ju s t a space of m ov em en t con-
s t ru c te d of a t h ou sa nd c r i s sc ross ing d i r ec t iona l s t eps . R a the r ,
i t possesses a sys tem by which i t i s cont ro l led , the wel l -known
coord ina te sy s t em , cons i s t ing of l eve l s t h a t a re ve r t i ca l ly a r -
ranged, one on top of the o ther . This serves as the bas is of a l l
s p a t i a l d e t e r m i n a t i o n s .
I t i s of fu nd am en ta l im po r tan ce th a t everyone who i s con-
cerned wi th the problem of space persuade h imsel f of th is fac t .
N o th ing i s s im ple r . O neneedonly close one 's eyes an d m ove o ne 's
ha nd , he ld pe rpe nd icu lar to th e forehead, back and for th in orde r
to e s t ab l i sh w i th ce r t a in ty w h ere the bo un da ry be tw een r igh t
and left l i es. Th is bo un da ry prac t ica l ly coincides w i th th e body 's
median p lane . I f one moves one ' s hor izonta l ly he ld hand up and
down in front of one 's face, one can e asi ly esta bl is h w he re th e
bou nda ry be tw e en u p and dow n l ie s . Th i s bou nda ry i s l oca ted a t
eye level in most people . Nonetheless , a grea t number of people
p lace th i s boun da ry a t t h e he igh t o f t he u pp er l ip . Th e bou nda ry
between front and back differs the most ; i t can be found by mov-
ing th e forward-fac ing pa lm of th e han d. A larg e num be r of peo-
ple say th a t th i s p la ne i s loca ted a t the op enin g of th e ear , w hi le
o the r s des igna te the zygom at i c a rch a s the boundary p l ane , and
oth ers s t i l l place i t in front of th e t ip of th e nose. Ev ery nor-
m a l hum an be ing ca r r i e s a coord ina te sys t em a round w i th h im
tha t i s m ad e up of th es e thre e p la ne s and i s firmly connected
to h is hea d (Fig ure 4) an d the reb y confers a so l id f rame upo n
his effect space, in which these direct ional s teps lurch and
reel.
55
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06
A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
In to the sh i f t ing tangle of d i rec t ional s teps , which as e l -
ements of movement can g ive no sol id i ty to the ef fec t space ,
these r e s t ing p l anes p ro jec t a f i rm sca f fo ld ing tha t gua ran tees
th e or de r of th e effect spa ce.
I t w a s t h e g r e a t a c h i e v e m e n t o f [Elie von] Cyon
7
to at-
t r i b u t e t h e three-dimensionality of our sp ace to a sen se- org an
loca ted in the inne r ea r , t he so -ca l l ed sem ic i r cu la r cana l s
(F igure 5 ), t he loca t ion of w h ich co r resp ond s ap pro x im ate ly to
FIGURE 4. Coordinate system
ofa human being
FIGURE 5. Semicircular canals
ofa humanbeing
th e th re e p l an es of th e effec t space . Th is connect ion ha s be en
d e m o n s t r a t e d s o c l e a rl y b y n u m e r o u s e x p e r i m e n t s t h a t w e c a n
m ak e the fo l low ing as se r t io n : A l l an im a l s th a t ha ve thes e th re e
sem ic i r cu la r cana l s a l so have ava i l ab le a th ree -d im ens iona l e f -
fect space.
Figure 6 shows the semicircular canals of a f ish. I t is evi-
den t t ha t t hese m us t be o f g rea t im por t ance fo r t h i s an im a l .
The i r i nne r s t ruc tu re a l so suppor t s t h i s conc lus ion ; i t p resen t s
a sys tem of tubes in which l iquid , cont ro l led by nerves , moves
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FIGURE 6. Semicircular canals ofafish
ENVRONMENT SPACES
in the three spat ia l d i rec t ions .
Th e mov em ent of l iquid fa ith-
ful ly ref lects the movements
of the whole body. That indi-
ca tes to us tha t , in addi t ion
to the t a s k of t r an spo s ing the
three p lanes in to the ef fec t
space , ano the r m ean ing can
be ass igned to th is organ. I t
seems to be cal led to play the
role of a compass as
weU
not a compass tha t only ever points nor th , but a compass for the
"house door . " I f a l l the movements of the ent i re body are ana-
lyzed and m arked in the sem ic i r cu la r cana l s , t hen the an im a l
must be back a t i t s s ta r t ing point when, in the course of swim-
m in g a rou nd , i t ha s b roug h t t hese ne rve m a rk in gs back to zero .
I t i s bey ond a l l do ubt th a t such a house -door com pas s
is a necessary a id for a l l an imals , whether the house door i s a
ne s t in g o r a spaw nin g p lace . Th e es t ab l i sh m en t of t he ho use
door th rough op t i ca l f ea tu res in v i sua l space i s i n m os t cases
no t ade qu a te , s ince i t m us t be found even if i t h a s cha nge d i t s
a p p e a r a n c e .
The abi l i ty to f ind the house door in effect space can also
b e d e m o n s t r a t e d i n i n s e c t s a n d mollusks, e v e n t h o u g h t h e s e
an im al s have no sem ic i r cu la r ea r cana l s . The fo l low ing i s a
ve ry conv inc ing exp er im en t (F igure 7 ): W hen m o s t of t he bee s
have f lown out , a beehive i s moved two meters . As i t happens ,
the bees ga the r aga in a t t ha t p l ace in the a i r w here the ex i t
holetheirh o u s edoorwas previously located. After f ive min-
utes , the bees sh i f t course and f ly toward the h ive .
T h e s e e x p e r i m e n t s h a v e b e e n c a r r i e d f u r t h e r , w i t h t h e
resul t tha t bees whose fee lers have been cut of f f ly immedi-
a t e ly tow ard the r e loca ted h ive . Th i s m eans tha t , a s l ong as
the y ar e in pos sess io n of th e i r fee lers , the y or ient the m sel ve s
57
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60
A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
T a c t i l e S p a c e
The bas ic bui ld ing b lock of tac t i le space i s not a uni t of move-
m ent such as the d i r ec t iona l s t ep , bu t a f ixed one , p l ace
[der
Ort], Place a lso owes i t s exis tence to a percept ion s ign be long-
ing to th e sub jec t and i s no t a conf igura t ion de pe nd en t upon th e
m a t t e r of i t s s u r r o u n d -
ings . [Erns t H e in r i ch ]
Weber provided the proof
of
this.
8
If one places
th e po in t s of a c om pas s
m o r e t h a n o n e c e n t i m e -
t e r apa r t on the nape o f
a n e x p e r i m e n t a l s u b -
jec t ' s neck, the subjec t
can c l ea r ly d i s t ingu i sh
b e t w e e n t h e t w o p o i n t s
(Figure 9) . Each point i s
loca ted a t ano the r p l ace .
I f one moves the points
dow n tow ard the back
w i thou t chang ing the d i s t ance be tw een them , they ge t c lose r
an d c lose r i n the t ac t i l e space of t h e exp er im en ta l sub jec t un t i l
they seem to be a t the same place .
There r e su l t s f rom th i s t ha t , bes ides the pe rcep t ion s ign
for the sense of touch, we a lso possess a percept ion s ign for the
sen se of p lace , wh ich we sh al l ca l l loca l s ign s . Tr an sfe r re d out -
w ard , each loca l s ign de l ivers a p lac e in tac t i le space . T he ar ea s
of our sk in th a t p roduce th e sam e loca l s ign in us w h en touc hed
chan ge ex t r ao rd in a r i ly in s i ze accord ing to th e m ea n in g t h a t
th e p ar t of th e sk in concern ed h as for touc hing . Af ter th e t ip
of th e tong ue, wh ich fee ls a ro un d th e ins id e of th e mo uth , t h e
t ips o f our f inge r s ha ve the sm a l l e s t a re as an d a re the re fo re
able to d i f ferent ia te the most p laces . As we fee l out an objec t ,
we confer a f ine mosa ic of p lace up on i t s sur fac e w i th th e t ou ch
of our f inger . The mosaic of place of the objects of the places of
FIGURE 9.Weber's compassexperiment
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ENVRONMENT SPACES
81
an animal i s a g i f t f rom the subjec t to the th ings in i t s envi ron-
m en t in v is ua l as wel l as in tac t i le space , one which i s no t a t a l l
ava i l ab le in i t s su r round ings .
In feel ing out [an object] , places connect themselves with
di rec t ional s teps , an d both serve the process of im age-form at ion .
Tac t i l e space p l ays a ve ry p rom inen t ro l e in som e an i -
m a l s . R a t s and ca t s a re com ple te ly unh indered in the i r m ove-
m ent s even w hen they have los t t he sense o fsightas long as
t h e y h a v e t h e i r vibrissae [w hi ske r s ] . A l l no c tu rna l an im a l s an d
a l l an im a l s l i v ing in caves l i ve p redom inan t ly in t ac t i l e space ,
w hich r ep re se n t s a m e ld ing of p l aces and d i r ec t ion a l s t ep s .
V i s u a l S p a c e
Eye less an i m a l s th a t , l i ke th e ti ck , ha ve sk in th a t is s ens i t i ve to
l ight wi l l mo st like ly posse ss th e sa m e skin ar ea s for th e produc-
t ion of local s igns for l ight s t imuli as well as for tact i le s t imuli .
V i sua l an d t ac t i l e p l aces co incide in the i r env i ron m e nt s .
O nly w i th a n im a l s th a t ha ve eyes do v i sua l an d t ac t i l e
p laces c l ea r ly sepa ra t e . In the eye ' s r e t ina , t he ve ry sm a l l e l -
e m e n t a r y areasthe v i s u a l elementsclose toge the r . To each
s i g h t e l e m e n t t h e r e c o r r e s p o n d s a p l ace in the env i ronm ent ,
for i t so happens tha t one loca l s ign i s ass igned to each v isual
e le me nt . F ig ur e 10 re p re se n ts the v isu al space of a f ly ing in-
sec t . I t is ea sy to see th a t , as a con sequ enc e of th e sph er ica l
con s t ru c t io n of th e eye , th e region of th e outs ide wor ld th a t
s t r ikes a v i sua l e l em ent g row s l a rge r a s d i s t ance inc reases and
ever m ore encom pass ing pa r t s o f t he ou t s ide w or ld a re covered
by one p lace . As a res ul t of th is , a ll th e ob ject s t h a t m ove a w ay
f rom the eye g row sm al l e r and sm al l e r un t i l t hey van i sh in to
one p l ace , fo r t he p l ace r ep resen t s t he sm a l l e s t spa t i a l vesse l
ins id e of wh ich th er e are no d is t in c t ion s .
In tac t i le space , the objec ts ' growing smal ler does not
t ake p l ace . A nd tha t i s t he po in t a t w h ich v i sua l and t ac t i l e
space come in to compet i t ion . I f one reaches out one ' s a rm to
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THE FARTHEST PLANE
63
i t aga in . I t wi l l then change i t se l f in to an ever more coarse
m osa ic . S ince the g r id i s t oo bo the r som e , w e have r ep roduced
here the coa r se r m osa ic im ages a s a w a te rco lo r w i thou t a g r id .
F ig ure s 11 a - d w e re p rodu ced w i t h the g rid m e thod . Th ey o ffe r
the ch anc e to ga in an in tu i t i on of an a n im a l ' s env i ron m ent i f
one kno w s the n um be r of v i su a l e l em ent s in i t s eye . F ig ure
l ie
cor responds approx im ate ly to the im age p rov ided by the eye
of th e house fly . O ne can eas i ly un d er s t an d t h a t i n an env i ron-
m en t th a t d i sp lays so few de ta i l s , t he th re ad s of a sp ide r ' s w eb
are com ple te ly los t t o s igh t , and w e m ay say tha t t he sp ide r
w eaves a ne t t ha t r em ains com ple te ly inv i s ib l e to i t s p rey .
The last figure
( l id)
co r responds to the im age im pressed
upon the eye of a mollusk. As one can see, the visual space of
sna i l s and m u sse l s con ta ins no th ing bu t a nu m be r of da rk an d
light surfaces.
9
Jus t as in tac t i le space , the connect ions f rom
place to p lace in v isual space are produced through di rec t ional
s teps . I f we prep ar e an objec t u nd er th e magni fy ing g lass , whose
pu rp os e i t is to join a large nu m b er of plac es on a sm all surface,
we can rea l ize tha t not only our eye but a l so our hand guiding
the d i s sec t ing p in execu tes m uch shor t e r d i r ec t iona l s t eps tha t
correspond to the p laces tha t a re now c lose to each o ther .
THE F RTHEST PL NE
U N L I K E E F F E C T SP A C E A N D T A C T IL E S P A C E , v i s u a l s p a c e i s
w al led abou t by an im pene t rab le w a l l , w h ich w e sha l l ca l l t he
hor i zon or f a r t hes t p l an e .
S u n , m o o n , a n d s t a r s w a n d e r a b o u t on t h e s a m e f a r t h e s t
p lane wi th no d i f ference in depth; th is p lane inc ludes a l l v i s -
ib le th i ng s . T he pos i t ion of th e far th es t p la ne i s, how ever , not
firmly fixed. W h e n I took my first s te p s ou t of do ors aft er a ba d
b o u t of t y p h u s , t h e f a r t h e s t p l a n e h u n g a b o u t t w e n t y m e t e r s i n
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FIGURE 11. a. Photograph ofavillage street
b.Village street photographed through ascreen
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**
/ '
..* Li
.J "
3
V
^
^ ^ "5
J d
FIGURE 11. c. The samevillage street for afly s eye
d. Village street fora mollusk's eye
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66
A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
f ront of me l ike color fu l wal lpaper on which a l l v i s ib le th ings
w ere por t r ayed . Pas t tw en ty m e te r s , ob jec t s w ere ne i the r c lose r
nor f a r the r aw ay , on ly l a rge r and sm al l e r . Even the coaches
tha t d rove pas t m e becam e no t f a r the r aw ay bu t on ly sm a l l e r
as soon as they had r eached the f a r thes t p l ane .
Th e l ens o f ou r eye ha s the sam e t a s k a s the l en s of a pho-
tographic camera , namely to focus the objec ts found in f ront of
t h e e y e o n t h e r e t i n a , w h i c h c o r r e s p o n d s t o t h e p h o t o s e n s i t i v e
p la t e in the cam era . The l ens o f t he hum an eye i s e l a s t i c and
can be bent by specia l lens muscles (which has the same ef -
f ec t a s ad jus t ing the l ens on the cam era ) . In con t rac t ing the
lens muscles , d i rec t ional s igns appear for the d i rec t ion back to
f ron t A s the r e l ax ing m us c les of t he e l a s t i c l ens a re s t r e t c he d ,
th e r e ap pe a r d i r ec t ion a l s ign s th a t g ive th e d i r ec t ion f rom
front to back. I f the muscles are comple te ly re laxed, the eye
is
focused on the d is tance f rom ten meters to inf in i ty .
W i t h i n a r a d i u s often m e te r s , t he th ings in our env i ron-
m e n t a r e k n o w n t o u s t h r o u g h t h i s m u s c u l a r m o v e m e n t
in
t e r m s
of near and far . Outs ide th is radius , there i s or ig ina l ly only an
enlargement or shr inking of objec ts . The infant ' s v isual space
ends he re w i th an a l l - encom pass ing f a r thes t p l ane . O n ly bit by
b i t do w e l ea rn to push th e f a r the s t p l an e eve r f a r th e r
with
the
help of d is tance s igns , unt i l the adul t ' s v i sual space ends a t a
dis tance of s ix to e ight k i lometers and the hor izon begins
The d i f f e rence be tw een the v i sua l space o f a ch i ld
ana
t h a t o f an a du l t is exp la ine d in F ig ure 12, w hich r ep ro duc es
v i s u a l l y a n e x p e r i e n c e r e l a t e d b y [ H e r m a n n v o n ]
Helmholtz.
H e r e p o r t s t h a t , a s a s m a l l bo y , h e w a s w a l k i n g b y t h e G a r r i s o n
C h u r c h i n P o t s d a m a n d n o t i c e d s o m e w o r k e r s
in
t h e
gaUery.
H e th en as ke d h i s m o the r i f she m igh t t a k e a coup le o fthe l i t t l e
d o l ls d o w n fo r h i m . T h e c h u r c h a n d t h e w o r k e r s w e r e a l r e a d y
loca ted in h i s f a r thes t p l ane and w ere the re fo re no t f a r aw ay ,
o n l y s m a l l . H e t h e r e f o r e h a d e v e r y r e a s o n t o a s s u m e t h a t his
m oth er , w i th he r l ong a r m s , cou ld b r i ng the do l l s dow n f rom the
ga l l e ry H e d id no t know th a t t h e ch urc h ha d en t i r e ly d i f fe ren t
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THE FARTHEST PLANE
67
FIGURE 12.
The
farthest plane of
an
adult (below)
and a
child (above)
d i m e n s i o n s i n h i s m o t h e r ' s e n v i r o n m e n t a n d t h a t t h e p e o p l e i n
the ga l l e ry w ere fo r he r no t sm a l l bu t f a r aw ay . The s i tua t ion
of th e fa r th es t p lan e i s d i ff icult to de m on st ra te in th e envi ro n-
m e n t s o f a n i m a l s b e c a u s e i t i s g e n e r a l l y n o t e a s y t o e s t a b l i s h
exper im en ta l ly w hen an ob jec t approach ing the sub jec t i n the
latter's
e n v i r o n m e n t i s b e c o m i n g n o t j u s t l a r g e r b u t n e a r e r .
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^^p
68
A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
FIGURE 13. Schematic structure of
the compound eye
of
a
fly.
a: The whole eye,out of which apiece is cut right)(after Hesse),
b: Two ommatidia.Cor.chitin cornea;K-. nucleus; Kr.crystal cone;
Krz-.
crystal
cone
cell;
Nf-.nerve fiber;P-.
pigment;
Pz:
pigment cell;
Rett:retinula;Rh-.Rhabdom;Szi
photoreceptor.
E x p e r i m e n t s i n c a t c h i n g houseflies s h o w t h a t t h e a p p r o a c h -
ing hum an hand on ly causes them to f ly aw ay w hen i t i s a t a
d i s t a nce of abo u t ha l f a m e te r . B y th i s , one m ig h t a s s um e th a t
th e f a r th es t p l an e i s t o be soug h t a t t h i s d i s t an ce .
B ut o ther obs ervat ion s in th e case of th e housef ly m ak e
i t s eem l ike ly tha t t he f a r thes t p l ane appea r s in a stiU different
way. I t is well known that f l ies do not only circle around a hang-
ing lam p or cha nd el ier bu t a lway s br ea k off th e i r flight sud den ly
once they are half a meter away from i t , in order then to f ly away
close to or below the l ight . In this , they behave l ike a boater in a
saHboat who does not wa nt to lose s ight of an i s lan d.
The eye of a f ly (Figure 13) is bui l t in such a way that
i t s v i sua l e l em ent s ( rhabdom s) p resen t l ong ne rve s t ruc tu res
tha t m us t ca t ch the im age p ro jec t ed by the i r l enses a t va ry ing
depths , cor responding to the d is tance f rom the perce ived objec t .
[S iegm und]
Exner
11
ha s expressed h i s suppos i t ion tha t t h i s cou ld
be a r ep la cem ent fo r t he m usc u la r l ens ap pa ra tu s o f our eye .
I f one supposes tha t t he op t i ca l appara tus o f t he v i sua l
e l em ent s func t ions l i ke an accessory l ens , t hen the chande-
l i e r w ou ld d i sappea r a t a ce r t a in d i s t ance and cause the f ly to
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^^p^i
THE FARTHEST PLANE
FIGURE 14.
above)
Chandelier for human
beings
FIGURE
15.
left)
Chandelier for
the
fly
r e t u r n . O ne can com pare F ig ure s 14 an d 15 , w hich show th e
chande l i e r pho tographed w i th and w i thou t an accessory l ens .
Whether the far thes t p lane c loses of f v isual space in th is
or in some other way, th is p lane i s a lways present . We must
t h e r e f o r e i m a g i n e a l l t h e a n i m a l s t h a t a n i m a t e N a t u r e a r o u n d
us , be they beet les , but ter f l ies , gnats , or
dragonflies
who popu-
la te a meadow, as having a soap bubble around them, c losed
on al l s ides, which closes off their visual space and in which
everything visible for the subject is also enclosed. Each bubble
she l ters o th er p laces , an d in each ar e a l so found th e d i rec t ional
planes of effective space, which give a solid scaffolding to space.
The b i rd s th a t flu tte r abo ut , th e squ i r re ls hoppin g f rom bra nc h
to bra nc h, or th e cows graz ing in th e meadow , aU re m ain pe rm a-
nent ly enclosed in the bubble tha t encloses the i r space .
69
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MAGCAL ENVRONMENTS 119
M GIC L ENVIRONMENTS
WITHOUTA DOUBT, th er e is alw ay s a fu nd am en tal oppo si t ion be-
t w e e n t h e s u r r o u n d i n g s t h a t w e h u m a n s s e e s p r e a d a l l a r o u n d
an im al s an d the env i ron m e nt s w hich they have bu i l t t hem se lve s
and f i l led wi th the i r percept ion th ings . Unt i l now, envi ronments
had bee n the produ ct of the percept ion s ign s th a t w ere aw ak-
ened by external s t imul i . But the search image, the t rac ing of
the m os t f am i l ia r pa th , an d the dem arca t ion of t e r r i t o ry a l r eady
con st i tu te except ions to th is ru le , s ince they could be ascr ibed to
no so r t o f ex te rna l s t im ul i bu t r ep resen ted f r ee p roduc t ions o f
the subjec t . These subjec t ive product ions had developed in con-
nect ion to repea ted p erso na l expe r iences of th e subjec t.
I f w e now proceed f a r the r , w e en te r env i ronm ent s in
which very ef fec t ive phenomena appear , v i s ib le , however , only
to the sub jec t . These phenom ena a re no t bound to exper i ence
or , a t most , to a s ingular exper ience [Erlebnis]. We ca l l suc h
e n v i r o n m e n t s magical.
H ow deep ly im m ersed in
magica l envi ronments some chi l -
dren l ive might be exemplif ied by
the following: [Leo] Frobenius
1 8
teUs
in Paideuma ab ou t a l i t t le gir l wh o
played th e s tory of H an sel an d Grete l ,
the wi tch , and the g ingerbread house
wi th a matchbox and three wooden
m atches qu ie t ly un t i l she sudden ly
exclaim ed, "Get the w itch out of here;
I can ' t s tand to see her repulsive face
an y more " T his typicaUy magica l
experience is indicated in Figure 42. In any case, the evi l witch
appeared in the f lesh in the l i t t le gir l ' s environment .
FIGURE 42.
The magical
appearance of
the
witch
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180 A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
^ $ S ^
FIGURE 43. Starling andimaginary fly
Such exper i ences a re f r equen t ly encoun te red by t r ave l -
ing researchers in the case of pr imi t ive peoples . I t i s sa id of
p r im i t ives tha t t hey l i ve in a m ag ica l w or ld in w hich f an tas -
t i c phenom ena b lend w i th the sensua l ly g iven th ings o f t he i r
wor ld . Whoever looks c loser , however , wi l l f ind the same magi-
ca l fo rm at ions in th e en v i ro nm en t of cu l t iva t ed Eu rop ea ns .
The ques t ion i s now ra i sed a s to w he the r an im a l s a l so
l ive in m ag ica l env i ro nm en t s . Ma gica l exper i ences a r e o ft en
repor t ed in the case o f dogs . B u t t hese r epor t s have no t been
adequate ly cr i t ica l ly reviewed to th is point . By and large , i t
w i l l have to be adm i t t ed tha t dogs connec t t he i r exper i ences
w i t h o n e a n o t h e r i n a w a y t h a t h a s a m a g i c a l c h a r a c t e r r a t h e r
than a logica l one . The ro le p layed by the master in the dog 's
env i ronm ent i s su re ly g rasped m ag ica l ly and no t d iv ided in to
cause and effect .
A researcher who i s a f r iend of mine repor ts on a doubt -
l e ss ly m ag ica l phe nom enon in the env i ro nm ent o f a b i rd . H e ha d
n
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T^
MAGCAL ENVRONMENTS 121
ra i sed a young s tar l ing in a room, and the b i rd had no oppor tu-
ni ty ever to see a f ly, much
less
to ca tch one . Then he observed
(F igure 43) tha t t he b i rd sudden ly started af ter an unseen ob-
jec t , snapped i t up in midai r , brought i t back to i t s perch and
began to hack away a t i t wi th i t s beak, as aU s tar l ings do wi th
the f l ies they ca tch , and then swal lowed the unseen th ing.
There w as no doub t a s t o the f ac t t ha t t he s t a r l i ng had
had the appea rance o f an im ag ina ry f ly in i t s env i ronm ent . H i s
w ho le en v i r on m en t w as ev iden t ly so l ade n w i th th e " feed ing
t o n e " t h a t , e v e n w i t h o u t t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f a s e n s o r y stimulus;
the effect image of flycatching, poised to spring, forced the ap-
pe a ra nc e of t h e pe rce p t ion im ag e , w h ich t r igge red th i s w ho le
sequence o f ac t ions . Th i s exper i ence ind ica t e s to us t h a t w e
shou ld in t e rp re t t he o the rw ise com ple te ly puzz l ing ac t ions o f
v a r i o u s a n i m a l s a s m a g i c a l .
F ig ure 44 exp la ins th e m an n er o f ac t ion of t h e pea w ee-
vi l la rva , which bores i t se l f a channel up to the sur face in the
s t i l l - t ender f l e sh o f t he young pea , a channe l t ha t i t u ses on ly
FIGURE 44.Themagical path of the pea weevil larva
n
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122 A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
af ter i t s t ransformat ion in to an adul t weevi l to s l ip out of the
pea , w h ich has becom e ha rd by tha t t im e . I t i s com ple te ly ce r -
t a i n th a t t h i s i s a m a t t e r of a to t a l ly p l an ne d ac t iv i ty , w h ich
is , however , comple te ly meaningless f rom the point of v iew of
th e young w eev il , s ince no senso ry s t i m ulu s of t he fu tu re w ee-
v i l can r each i t s l a rva . N o pe rcep t ion s ign announces to the
l a rva the pa th w hich i t has never been dow n and m us t fo l low
non e the les s , if i t i s no t t o w as te aw ay m ise rab ly a f t e r i t s t r an s -
fo rm at ion to a w eev i l . The pa th s t r e t ches ou t c l ea r ly m arked
before i t as a magica l format ion . The
inborn.path
t a k e s t h e
p lace of t h e f am i l i a r p a t h kn ow n by exper i enc e .
F ig ure s 45 an d 46 show tw o fu r the r exa m p les o f t h e in -
born pa th . The female b i rch- leaf ro l le r begins to cut a curvy
l ine of a prescr ibed form in to the b i rch leaf a t a cer ta in point
(w hich i s pe rhaps know n to he r by t a s t e ) . Th i s m akes i t pos -
s ib le af terward for her to ro l l the leaf together in to a sac in
w hich she w i l l l ay he r eggs . Even though the bee t l e has never
gone dow n th i s pa th , and the b i r ch l ea f g ives no ind ica t ion as
to the pa th , t h i s m us t s t i l l
he
before her with ful l clar i ty as a
m a g i c a l p h e n o m e n o n .
The same i s t rue for the f l ight pa th of migra tory b i rds .
The con t inen t s bea r t he inborn pa th , one v i s ib l e on ly to the
b i rds . Th i s i s su re ly t rue fo r young b i rds , w h ich m us t m ake
t h e i r w a y w i t h o u t h e l p f r o m t h e i r p a r e n t s , w h e r e a s , f o r t h e
oth ers , th e acq uis i t io n of a fam i l ia r p a t h i s not outs id e th e
rea lm of poss ib i l i ty .
As wi th the fami l ia r pa th , which we have d iscussed a t
l eng th , t he inborn pa th w i l l a l so l ead th rough v i sua l space a s
well as effect space. The only difference between the two l ies in
th e fac t th a t , w i th the fami l ia r p a t h , a ser ies of percep t ion and
effec t s igns tha t were es tabl i shed through previous exper iences
fol low one af ter the o ther , whi le , wi th the inborn pa th , the same
ser ies of s igns i s immedia te ly g iven as a magica l phenomenon.
For th e ou t s id e obse rve r , t h e fam i l i a r p a t h i s j u s t a s in -
vis ib le in a fore ign en vi ro nm en t a s is th e inb orn one . An d if one
assum es tha t t he f am i l i a r pa th appea r s fo r a fo re ign sub jec t i n
A
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I
FIGURE
45.
The magical path
of
the
birch-leaf roller
FIGURE 46.
The magical
path of the migratory bird
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124 A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
i t senvironmentwhich is not to be doubtedthere i s no cause
to deny the phenom enon o f the inborn pa th , s ince i t i s com -
p o s e d of t h e s a m e e l e m e n t s , t h e o u t w a r d l y t r a n s p o s e d p e r c ep -
t ion s igns and ef fec t s igns . In the one case , they are ac t iva ted
by sensory s t im ul i , and in the o the r case , t hey sound one a f t e r
the o the r l i ke an inborn m e lody .
I f a ce r t a i n p a t h w e re inb orn in a h u m a n be ing , t h i s cou ld
be desc r ibed l i ke the
famUiar
p a t h : a h u n d r e d p a c e s t o t h e r e d
house , then to the r ight , and so on.
I f one wants to ca l l meaningful only tha t which i s g iven
to th e sub jec t t h ro ug h se nse exper i ence , t hen , of cour se , on ly
the f am i l i a r pa th w i l l be m ean ingfu l ; t he inborn pa th w i l l no t
be . Th e inbo rn pa th w i l l fo r t h a t r easo n , how ever , be gu ided by
a p l an to the h ighes t degree .
A r e m a r k a b l e e x p e r i e n c e r e p o r t e d by a y o u n g r e s e a r c h e r
speaks fo r t he f ac t t ha t m ag ica l phenom ena p lay a f a r g rea t e r
ro l e in the an im a l k ingdom than w e suppose . H e f ed a hen in
a ce r t a in s t a l l and , a s t he hen pecked a t t he g ra ins , he l e t a
gu inea p ig in to th e s t a l l . Th e he n beca m e fu r ious an d f lapped
a l l a round . F rom tha t po in t on , t he hen cou ld no t be m ade to
t ake he r f eed ings
in
tha t s t a l l . She w ould have s t a rved am id
th e be s t g ra in . Ev iden t ly , t h e shado w of th a t fi rs t exper i ence
hung over the s t a l l , a s F igure 47 expresses . Th i s l eads to the
s u p p o s i t i o n t h a t , w h e n t h e m o t h e r h e n r u s h e s t o w a r d t h e
peep ing ch ick and chases aw ay an im ag ina ry enem y, a m ag ica l
p h e n o m e n o n h a s a p p e a r e d i n h e r e n v i r o n m e n t .
The deeper w e have gone in to the s tudy o f env i ronm ent s ,
the m ore w e m us t have been conv inced tha t po ten t f ac to r s
occur in them to w hich one can a t t r ibu te no ob jec t ive r ea l i t y ,
beg inn in g w i th the m osa ic of p l aces w hich the eye im p ress es
upon th e th in gs of t h e env i ro nm ent , an d th a t a re so l i t t le p res -
e n t i n t h e s u r r o u n d i n g s a s t h e d i r e c t i o n a l p l a n e s t h a t c o n v e y
env i ronm enta l space . B y the sam e r igh t , i t w as im poss ib l e to
f ind any f ac to r i n the su r round ings tha t co r responds to the
subjec t ' s fami l ia r pa th .
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MAGCAL ENVRONMENTS
125
FIGURE
47.
The
magical shadow
T he re is no d iv i s ion of space in to ho m e t e r r i t o r y and hu n t -
ing g ro un d in the su r ro un d in gs . N o t r ac es of t he c ruc ia l s ea rch
im age a re p resen t i n the su r round ings . N ow , in conc lud ing , w e
h a v e c o m e u p o n t h e m a g i c a l p h e n o m e n o n o f t h e i n b o r n p a t h ,
w hich m ocks any and a l l ob jec t iv i ty and ye t i n t e rvenes in the
env i ronm ent accord ing to a p l an .
There a re thus pure ly sub jec t ive r ea l i t i e s i n env i ron-
m e nt s . B u t t he ob jec t ive r ea l i t i e s of t he su r rou nd ing s neve r ap -
p e a r a s s u c h in t h e e n v i r o n m e n t s . T h e y a r e a l w a y s t r a n s f o r m e d
i n to p e r c e p t i o n m a r k s o r p e r c e p t i o n i m a g e s a n d e q u i p p e d w i t h
an ef fec t tone which only then makes them in to rea l objec ts
even tho ug h no p ar t of th e ef fect ton e i s pr es en t in th e s t im ul i .
A nd finally , th e s im ple funct io nal cycle tea ch es u s th a t
pe rcep t ion m arks a s w e l l a s e f f ec t m arks a re express ions o f
th e subjec t an d th a t the qua l i t ie s of th e objec ts inc lu ded in th e
funct ional cycle can only be refer red to as the i r vehic les .
In th i s w ay , w e th en conc lude tha t each and ev e ry sub jec t
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126 A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
l ives in a wor ld in which there are only subjec t ive rea l i t ies and
t h a t e n v i r o n m e n t s t h e m s e l v e s r e p r e s e n t o n l y s u b j e c t i v e r e a l i -
t ies . Whoever denies the exis tence of subjec t ive rea l i t ies has
no t r ecogn ized the foun da t ions of h i s o r he r ow n env i ron m e nt .
THE S ME SUBJECT S OBJECT
IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS
THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS described single forays in different
d i r e c t io n s i n t o t h e u n k n o w n c o u n t r y of t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e y
w e re a r r an ge d accord ing to p rob lem s in o rde r to ga in a un i fi ed
m an ne r of obse rva t ion in each case .
E v e n t h o u g h s o m e f u n d a m e n t a l p r o b l e m s w e r e a d -
d ressed , a com ple te accoun t w as ne i the r sough t nor a t t a ined
at-all. M a n y p r o b l e m s still awaitbeing g ras ped in t e l l ec tua l ly ,
and o the r s have no t ye t deve loped beyond the fo rm ula t ion o f
th e ques t ion . We s t i l l do not kno w how m uc h of th e subjec t ' s
ow n body ca r r i e s ove r in to i t s env i ronm ent . N o t even the ques -
t ion of the s ignif icance of the subject 's own shadow in i ts envi-
r o n m e n t h a s b e e n a d d r e s s e d e x p e r i m e n t a l l y .
A s im po r t a n t a s t he pu r su i t of i nd iv idu a l p rob lem s is fo r
e n v i r o n m e n t a l r e s e a r c h , i t i s j u s t as i n a d e q u a t e t o p r o v i d e a n
overv iew of the in t e r r e l a t ions o f env i ronm ent s . O ne can ob ta in
suc h a n overv iew in a l i m i t e d fie ld i f one pu rs u es th e fo l lowing
question: How does the subjec t exempt i t se l f as an objec t in the
d i f f e ren t env i ronm ent s in w hich i t p l ays an im por t an t ro l e?
I t ake a s an exam ple an oak t r ee , w h ich i s popu la t ed by
many animal subjec ts and i s ca l led upon to p lay a d i f ferent ro le
in each env i ronm ent . S ince the oak a l so appea r s in d i f f e ren t
h u m a n e n v i r o n m e n t s , I s h a l l b e g i n w i t h t h e s e .
F igures 48 and 49 a re r ep roduc t ions o f tw o d raw ings w e
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128
A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
FIGURE 50. Fox andoak
o w e t o F r a n z H u t h ' s t a l e n t e d h a n d . I n t h e t h o r o u g h l y r a t i o n a l
w or ld of t h e o ld fo res t e r , w ho m u s t de t e r m in e w hich t ru nk s
in h is fores t a re ready to be fe l led , the oak tha t has fa l len to
th e axe i s no more t h a n a few cords of wood, as the fores ter
a t t e m p t s t o e s t a b l i s h t h r o u g h p r e c is e m e a s u r e m e n t . I n t h i s
case , no fu r the r a t t en t ion i s pa id to the bu lg ing ba rk w hich
res em ble s a h u m a n face (Fig ure 48). T he ne xt figure (Figure
49) show s the sam e oak in the m ag ica l env i ronm ent o f a l i t t l e
g i r l wh ose fores t i s s t i l l filled wi th g no m es an d sp r i te s . Th e g i rl
i s te r r ib ly scared as the oak looks a t her wi th i t s wicked face .
The w hole oak has becom e a dangerous dem on .
O n th e g rou nd s of m y cous in ' s e s t a t e in Es ton ia , t he r e
s tood an o ld apple t ree . A lar ge bra ck et fung us , w hich bore a
dis tant resemblance to the face of a c lown, was growing on the
t ree , but no one had not iced i t ye t . One day, my brother sent for
a dozen R uss i an seasona l w orke r s , w ho d i scovered the app le
t r e e and s tood be fo re i t da i ly fo r devo t ions , m u rm ur in g p raye r s
J
s
f
b
p
u
f
e
o
e
es
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THE SAME SUBJECT AS OBJECT IN DFFERENT ENVRONMENTS
129
FIGURE 51.
Owl and
oak
a n d c r o s s i n g t h e m s e l v e s . T h e y e x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e fu n g u s m u s t
be an im age w i th m i racu lo us pow ers , s ince i t w as no t m a de by
h u m a n h a n d s . M a g i c a l p r o c e s s e s i n n a t u r e s e e m e d t o t h e m a
self-evident fact.
B u t l e t u s ge t back to th e oak an d i t s i nh ab i t a n t s . For the
fox, who has bui l t i t s den among the oak 's roots , the oak has
become a sol id roof which protects i t and i ts family from the
per il s of t he w ea th e r (F igu re 50) . Th e oak posse sses n e i th e r t h e
use tone f rom th e fo res t e r ' s env i ron m en t nor the dan ger tone
from the l i t t l e g i r l ' s envi ronment , but only a protec t ion
tone.
However else i t might be configured plays no role in the fox's
e n v i r o n m e n t .
The oak a l so show s a p ro tec t ion tone in the env i ronm ent
of th e owl (F igu re 51) . T hi s t ime , i t is no t th e roots , wh ich l ie
en t i r e ly ou t s ide the ow l ' s env i ronm ent , bu t t he m igh ty b ranch-
es th a t se rve th e owl as a pro tec t iv e
wall.
For the squ i r r e l , t he oak , w i th i t s m an y b ra nc he s o f fe ring
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130
A FORAY INTO THE WORLDS OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS
FIGURE 52.Ant andoak
handy sp r ingboards , t akes on a c l im bing tone , and fo r song-
bi rds , which bui ld the i r nes ts in the remote twigs , i t of fers the
n e e d e d c a r r y i n g t o n e .
In accordance wi th the d i f ferent e f fec t tones , the percep-
t ion im ag es of t h e nu m er ou s inh ab i t a n t s o f t h e oak a re config-
ur ed d i f ferent ly . Ea ch en vi ro nm en t cuts out of th e oak a cer -
t a i n p i ece , t he c ha r ac te r i s t i c s o f w h ich a r e su i t ed to fo rm the
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THE SAME SUBJECT AS OBJECT IN DFFERENT ENVRONMENTS
131
FIGURE 53. Bark
beetle and
oak
percep t ion-m ark ca r r i e r s a s w e l l a s t he e f f ec t -m ark ca r r i e r s o f
the i r funct ional cycles . In the ant ' s envi ronment (Figure 52) ,
a l l t h e r e s t o f t h e oak d i sa pp ea r s beh ind i t s
furrowed,bark,
w hose peaks and va l l eys fo rm the an t s ' hun t ing g round .
The ba rk bee t l e seeks i t s food benea th the ba rk , w h ich
i t tears away (Figure 53) . Here , i t l ays i t s eggs . I t s la rvae dr i l l
t h e i r t u n n e l s u n d e r n e a t h t h e b a r k , w h e r e t h e y c a n c o n t i n u e
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