Umwelten (DE)

[ˈʊmvɛltən]

Related terms: Becoming-with, Begegnung (German)/Encounters, Biosphere, Borders, Ecosystem, Environment, Habitat, Landschaft (German), Nature/Culture, Unwelten (German)

»In der Welt des Regenwurms gibt es nur Regenwurmdinge, in der Welt der Libellen gibt es nur Libellendinge usw« [*] (In the world of earthworms there are only earthworm things, in the world of dragonflies there are only dragonfly things, etc.). In this understanding of Umwelt, every life-form has its subjective world view. Living in the terrestrial condition, we need to abandon isolated world views and open up to an understanding of the permeable and process-driven existence we all live. There is no Umwelt (the world that surrounds us) and no Innenwelt (the world that is inside us), but an encounter of earthworm things and dragonfly things.

[*] Jakob Johann von Uexküll, Umwelt und Innenwelt der Tiere [1909] (Berlin: Julius Springer, 1921), 45.