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This edited volume is the first specialized book in English about
the Swiss zoologist and anthropologist Adolf Portmann (1897-1982).
It provides a clarification and update of Portmann's theoretical
approach to the phenomenon of life, characterized by terms such as
"inwardness" and "self-presentation." Portmann's concepts of
secondary altriciality and the social uterus have become
foundational in philosophical anthropology, providing a benchmark
of the difference between humans and animals. In its content, this
book brings together two approaches: historical and philosophical
analysis of Portmann's studies in the life sciences and application
of Portmann's thought in the fields of biology, anthropology, and
biosemiotics. Significant attention is also paid to the
methodological implications of his intended reform of biology.
Besides contributions from contemporary biologists, philosophers,
and historians of science, this volume also includes a translation
of an original essay by Portmann and a previously unpublished
manuscript from his most remarkable English-speaking interpreter,
philosopher Marjorie Grene. Portmann's conception of life is unique
in its focus on the phenomenal appearance of organisms. Confronted
with the enormous amount of scientific knowledge being produced
today, it is even clearer than it was during Portmann's lifetime
that although biologists employ physical and chemical methods,
biology itself is not (only) physics and chemistry. These exact
methods must be applied according to what has meaning for living
beings. If biology seeks to understand organisms as autonomous
agents, it needs to take display and the interpretation of
appearances as basic characteristics of life. The topic of this
book is significantly relevant to the disciplines of theoretical
biology, philosophy, philosophical anthropology, and biosemiotics.
The recent epigenetic turn in biology, acknowledging the
interconnections between organismal development, morphology and
communication, presents an opportunity to revisit Portmann's work
and to reconsider and update his primary ideas in the contemporary
context.
This edited volume is the first specialized book in English about
the Swiss zoologist and anthropologist Adolf Portmann (1897-1982).
It provides a clarification and update of Portmann's theoretical
approach to the phenomenon of life, characterized by terms such as
"inwardness" and "self-presentation." Portmann's concepts of
secondary altriciality and the social uterus have become
foundational in philosophical anthropology, providing a benchmark
of the difference between humans and animals. In its content, this
book brings together two approaches: historical and philosophical
analysis of Portmann's studies in the life sciences and application
of Portmann's thought in the fields of biology, anthropology, and
biosemiotics. Significant attention is also paid to the
methodological implications of his intended reform of biology.
Besides contributions from contemporary biologists, philosophers,
and historians of science, this volume also includes a translation
of an original essay by Portmann and a previously unpublished
manuscript from his most remarkable English-speaking interpreter,
philosopher Marjorie Grene. Portmann's conception of life is unique
in its focus on the phenomenal appearance of organisms. Confronted
with the enormous amount of scientific knowledge being produced
today, it is even clearer than it was during Portmann's lifetime
that although biologists employ physical and chemical methods,
biology itself is not (only) physics and chemistry. These exact
methods must be applied according to what has meaning for living
beings. If biology seeks to understand organisms as autonomous
agents, it needs to take display and the interpretation of
appearances as basic characteristics of life. The topic of this
book is significantly relevant to the disciplines of theoretical
biology, philosophy, philosophical anthropology, and biosemiotics.
The recent epigenetic turn in biology, acknowledging the
interconnections between organismal development, morphology and
communication, presents an opportunity to revisit Portmann's work
and to reconsider and update his primary ideas in the contemporary
context.
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