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German biologist Jakob von Uexküll focused on how an animal, through its behavioral relations, both impacts and is impacted by its own unique environment. Onto-Ethologies traces the influence of Uexküll’s ideas on the thought of Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Gilles Deleuze, as they explore how animal behavior might be said to approximate, but also differ from, human behavior. It is the relation between animal and environment that interests Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Deleuze, and yet it is the differences in their approach to Uexküll (and to concepts such as world, body, and affect) that prove so fascinating. This book explores the ramifications of these encounters, including how animal life both broadens and deepens the ontological significance of their respective philosophies.
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118961-Buchanan PMS 144 Black
SUNY P R E S S
State University of New York Press www.sunypress.edu
CMYK
Onto-Ethologies
SUNY series in Environmental Philosophy and Ethics J. Baird Callicott and John van Buren, editors
Onto-Ethologies The Animal Environments of Uexküll, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Deleuze
Brett Buchanan
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2008 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production by Ryan Morris Marketing by Michael Campochiaro Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Buchanan, Brett, 1975– Onto-ethologies : the animal environments of Uexküll, Heidegger, MerleauPonty, and Deleuze / Brett Buchanan. p. cm. — (SUNY series in environmental philosophy and ethics) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7914-7611-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Philosophy of nature. 2. Naturalness (Environmental sciences). 3. Animals (Philosophy). I. Title. BD581.B77 2008 113'.8—dc22
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Contents
Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction: Between Ontology and Ethology
vii ix 1
1. Jakob von Uexküll’s Theories of Life Biography and Historical Background Nature’s Conformity with Plan Umweltforschung Biosemiotics Concluding Remarks
7 9 12 21 28 36
2. Marking a Path into the Environments of Animals The Essential Approach to the Animal Heidegger and the Biologists Three Paths to the World
39 44 46 55
3. Disruptive Behavior: Heidegger and the Captivated Animal The Worldless Stone The Poor Animal Three Bees and a Lark Animal Morphology A Shocking Wealth A Fine Line in the Rupture of Time An Affected Body
65 69 71 78 88 97 101 112
4. The Theme of the Animal Melody: Merleau-Ponty and the Umwelt The Structure of Behavior A Pure Wake, A Quiet Force A Leaf of Being Interanimality
115 116 130 138 146
vi
Contents
5. The-Animal-Stalks-at-Five-O’Clock: Deleuze’s Affection for Uexküll Problematic Organisms Uexküll’s Ethology of Affects The Body without Organs, the Embryonic Egg, and Prebiotic Soup Nature’s Refrain Sung across Milieus and Territories The Animal Stalks
162 173 182
Conclusion: Uexküll and Us Notes Bibliography Index
187 191 207 217
151 151 154
Acknowledgments
As this is a book on environments, I would be remiss if I did not say that it is very much a product of my own environment. Many people