A Foray into the Worlds of Animals and Humans. A Theory of Meaning

A Foray into the Worlds of Animals and Humans (1934) and A Theory of Meaning (1940) are two revolutionary works by German biologist and natural philosopher Jakob von Uexküll (1864–1944). The main theses and the author's concept of surrounding world (Umwelt) formed the basis of biosemiotics. According to Uexküll, all living beings do not inhabit a single world, they are the subjects forming their own environments. The author curiously studies the peculiarities of the structure, habitat and behaviour of a tick, a mollusc and a dog, each of them perceives reality in its own way. Uexküll acknowledges the limits of human ability to see the world through the eyes of animals and urges us to observe carefully and think deeply so that we might catch a glimpse of the wondrous worlds of our fellow creatures. A Foray into the Worlds of Animals and Humans and A Theory of Meaning have become key texts for post humanist thought, influenced the ideas of Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Deleuze and Guattari, and retain their significance up to now.

Jakob von Uexküll. A Foray into the Worlds of Animals and Humans. A Theory of Meaning / Translated from German: Polina Zapadalova. Editor Philip Fomichev. — Moscow: Ad Marginem Press, 2025.